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TJae  Famous  Oz 


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Since    1900,   when    L.   Frank   Baum   introduced   to   the   children   of 

America  THE  WONDERFUL  WIZARD  OF  OZ  and  all  the  other 

"xciting  characters  who  inhabit  the  land  of  Oz,  these  delightful  fairy 

s  have  stimulated  the  imaginations  of  millions  of  young  readers. 

These  are  stories  of  genuine  fantasy— creative,  funny,  tender, 
exciting,  and  surprising.  Filled  with  the  rarest  and  most  absurd  crea- 
tures, each  of  the  volumes  in  the  series  has  been  eagerly  sought  out 
by  generation  after  generation  until  today  they  are  known  to  all 
except  the  very  young  or  those  who  were  never  young  at  all. 

When,  in  a  recent  survey,  The  New  York  Times  polled  a  group  of 
teen-agers  on  the  books  they  liked  best  when  they  were  young,  the 
Oz  books  topped  the  list. 


THE      FAMOUS      OZ      BOOKS 


By  L.  Frank  Baum: 

THE  WIZARD  OF  OZ 

THE  LAND  OF  OZ 

OZMA  OF  OZ 

DOROTHY  AND  THE  WIZARD  IN  OZ 

THE  ROAD  TO  OZ 

THE  EMERALD  CITY  OF   OZ 

THE  PATCHWORK  GIRL  OF  OZ 

TIK-TOK  OF  OZ 

THE  SCARECROW  OF  OZ 

RINKITINK  IN  OZ 

THE  LOST  PRINCESS  OF  OZ 

THE  TIN  WOODMAN  OF  OZ 

THE  MAGIC  OF  OZ 

GLINDA  OF  OZ 


•63. 
3 


OZMA  OF  OZ 


A  Record  of  Her  Adventures  with  Dorothy  Gale  of 

Kansas,  the  Yellow  Hen,  the  Scarecrow,  the  Tin 

Woodman,  Tiktok,  the  Cowardly  Lion  and 

the  Hungry  Tiger;  Besides  Other  Good 

People  too  Numerous  to  Mention 

Faithfully  Recorded  Herein 

BY 

L.  FRANK  BAUM 

THE  AUTHOR  OF  THE  WIZARD  OF  OZ. 
THE  LAND  OF  OZ.  ETC. 


|«g| 


ILLUSTRATED    BY 

JOHN    R.     NEILL 


The  Reilly  &  Lee  Co. 

Chicago 


Copypiglpt ,  1907 ,  by 

041.1.      R,IOHTS       RESERVED 


List 


of 


Chapters 


Page 
I.    The  Grl  in  the  Chicken  Coop  -         1 

II.  The  Yellow  Hen       -     -     -     -  U 

III.  Letters  in  the  Sand    -     -     -     -  25 

IV.  Tiktok.  the  Machine  Man    -     -  37 
V.  Dorothy  Oj)en8  the  Dinner  Pail  52 

VI.    The  Hands  of  Langwidere  -     -      64 
VII.    Ozma  of  Oz  to  the  Rescue    -    -      89 

VIII.    The  Hungry  Tiger 105 

IX.    The  Royal  Family  ofEv----------116 

X.    The  Giant  with  the  Hammer      ---------129 

XL    The  Nome  King         144 


XII. 

XIII. 

XIV. 
XV. 

XVI. 
XVII. 

XVIII. 

XIX. 

XX. 

XXI. 


Page 
The  Eleven  ^ 

Guesses  ^-  -  -   163 

The  Nome  King 

Laughs  -  -  -  -   170 

Dorothy  Tries  to  be  Brave    1 79 

Billina  Frightens  the  Nome 

King 193 

Purple,  Green  and  Gold  -  204 
The  Scarecrow  Wins  the 

Fight      214 

The  Fate  of  the  Tin 

Woodman  -----  223 
The  King  of  Ev  -  -  -  -  - 
The  Elmerald  City  -  -  -  - 
Dorothy's  Magic  Belt      -     -     . 


234 
242 
251 


Author's   Note 


My  friends  the  children  are  responsible  for  this  new  "Oz 
Book,"  as  they  were  for  the  last  one,  which  was  called  The 
Land  of  Oz.  Their  sweet  little  letters  plead  to  know  "more 
about  Dorothy";  and  they  ask:  "What  became  of  the  Cow- 
ardly Lion?"  and  "What  did  Ozma  do  afterward?" — mean- 
ing, of  course,  after  she  became  th.  Ruler  of  Oz.  And  some 
of  them  suggest  plots  to  me,  saying :  "  Please  have  Dorothy 
go  to  the  Land  of  Oz  again";  or,  "Why  don't  you  make 
Ozma  and  Dorothy  meet,  and  have  a  good  time  together?" 
Indeed,  could  I  do  all  that  my  little  friends  ask,  I  would  be 
obliged  to  write  dozens  of  books  to  satisfy  their  demands. 
And  I  wish  I  could,  for  I  enjoy  writing  these  stories  just  as 
much  as  the  children  say  they  enjoy  reading  them. 

Well,  here  is  "more  about  Dorothy,"  and  about  our  old 
friends  the  Scarecrow  and  the  Tin  Woodman,  and  about  the 
Cowardly  Lion,  and  Ozma,  and  all  the  rest  of  them;  and  here, 
likewise,  is  a  good  deal  about  some  new  folks  that  are  queer 
and  unusual.  One  little  friend,  who  read  this  story  before  it 
was  printed,  said  to  me:  "  Billina  is  real  Ozzy,  Mr.  Baum, 
and  so  are  Tiktok  and  the  Hungry  Tiger." 

If  this  judgment  is  unbiased  and  correct,  and  the  little 
folks  find  this  new  story  "real  Ozzy,"  I  shall  be  very  glad 
indeed  that  I  wrote  it.  But  perhaps  I  shall  get  some  more  of 
those  very  welcome  letters  from  my  readers,  telling  me  just 
how  they  like  "  Ozma  of  Oz."     I  hope  so,  anyway. 

L.  FRANK  BAUM. 

MACATAWA,  I907. 


ihe  Gm  ii  ^  Chicken  Gaop 


wind   blew  hard  and 
joggled  the  water  of  the      < 
ocean,  sending  ripples 
across  its  surface.     Then  the 
wind  pushed  the  edges  of  the 
ripples  until  they  became  waves, 
and  shoved  the  waves  around  un- 
til they  became  billows.      The  bil- 
lows   rolled   dreadfully   high:    higher 
even  than  the  tops  of  houses.     Some  of 
them,  indeed,  rolled  as  high  as  the  tops 
of  tall  trees,  and   seemed  like  mountains; 
and  the  gulfs  between  the  great  billows  were 
like  deep  valleys. 

All  this  mad  dashing  and  splashing  of  the 
waters   of  the  big  ocean,  which  the  mischievous 


Ozma        of        Oz 

wind  caused  without  any  good  reason  whatever, 
resulted  in  a  terrible  storm,  and  a  storm  on  the 
ocean  is  liable  to  cut  many  queer  pranks  and  do  a 
lot  of  damage. 

At  the  time  the  wind  began  to  blow,  a  ship  was 
sailing  far  out  upon  the  waters.  When  the  waves 
began  to  tumble  and  toss  and  to  grow  bigger  and 
bigger  the  ship  rolled  up  and  down,  and  tipped 
sidewise — first  one  way  and  then  the  other — and  was 
jostled  around  so  roughly  that  even  the  sailor-men 
had  to  hold  fast  to  the  ropes  and  railings  to  keep 
themselves  from  being  swept  away  by  the  wind  or 
pitched  headlong  into  the  sea. 

And  the  clouds  were  so  thick  in  the  sky  that  the 
sunlight  couldn't  get  through  them;  so  that  the  day 
grew  dark  as  night,  which  added  to  the  terrors  of 
the  storm. 

The  Captain  of  the  ship  was  not  afraid,  because 
he  had  seen  storms  before,  and  had  sailed  his  ship 
through  them  in  safety;  but  he  knew  that  his  pas- 
sengers would  be  in  danger  if  they  tried  to  stay  on 
deck,  so  he  put  them  all  into  the  cabin  and  told 
them  to  stay  there  until  after  the  storm  was  over, 
and  to  keep  brave  hearts  and  not  be  scared,  and 
all  would  be  well  with  them. 

Now,  among  these  passengers  was  a  little  Kansas 

2 


The  Girl  in  the  Chicken-Coop 


girl  named  Dorothy  Gale,  who  was  going  with  her 
Uncle  Henry  to  Australia,  to  visit  some  relatives  they 
had  never  before  seen.  Uncle  Henry,  you  must 
know,  was  not  very  well,  because  he  had  been  work- 
ing so  hard  on  his  Kansas  farm  that  his  health  had 
given  way  and  left  him  weak  and  nervous.  So  he  left 
Aunt  Em  at  home  to  watch  after  the  hired  men  and 
to  take  care  of  the  farm,  while  he  traveled  far  away 
to  Australia  to  visit  his  cousins  and  have  a  good 
rest. 

Dorothy  was  eager  to  go  with  him  on  this  jour- 
ney, and  Uncle  Henry  thought  she  would  be  good 
company  and  help  cheer  him  up;  so  he  decided  to 
take  her  along.  The  little  girl  was  quite  an  ex- 
perienced traveller,  for  she  had  once  been  carried 
by  a  cyclone  as  far  away  from  home  as  the  marvelous 
Land  of  Oz,  and  she  had  met  with  a  good  many 
adventures  in  that  strange  country  before  she  man- 
aged to  get  back  to  Kansas  again.  So  she  wasn't 
easily  frightened,  whatever  happened,  and  when  the 
wind  began  to  howl  and  whistle,  and  the  waves 
began  to  tumble  and  toss,  our  little  girl  didn't  mind 
the  uproar  the  least  bit. 

"Of  course  we'll  have  to  stay  in  the  cabin,"  she 
said  to  Uncle  Henry  and  the  other  passengers,  "and 
keep  as  quiet  as   possible   until   the   storm   is  over. 


Ozma        of        Oz 

For  the  Captain  says  if  we  go  on  deck  we  may  be 
blown  overboard." 

No  one  wanted  to  risk  such  an  accident  as  that, 
you  may  be  sure;  so  all  the  passengers  stayed  hud- 
dled up  in  the  dark  cabin,  listening  to  the  shrieking 
of  the  storm  and  the  creaking  of  the  masts  and  rig- 
ging and  trying  to  keep  from  bumping  into  one 
another  when  the  ship  tipped  sidewise. 

Dorothy  had  almost  fallen  asleep  when  she  was 
aroused  with  a  start  to  find  that  Uncle  Henry  was 
missing.  She  couldn't  imagine  where  he  had  gone, 
and  as  he  was  not  very  strong  she  began  to  worry 
about  him,  and  to  fear  he  might  have  been  careless 
enough  to  go  on  deck.  In  that  case  he  would  be  in 
great  danger  unless  he  instantly  came  down  again. 

The  fact  was  that  Uncle  Henry  had  gone  to  lie 
down  in  his  little  sleeping-berth,  but  Dorothy  did 
not  know  that.  She  only  remembered  that  Aunt 
Em  had  cautioned  her  to  take  good  care  of  her 
uncle,  so  at  once  she  decided  to  go  on  deck  and  find 
him,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  tempest  was  now 
worse  than  ever,  and  the  ship  was  plunging  in  a 
really  dreadful  manner.  Indeed,  the  little  girl  found 
it  was  as  much  as  she  could  do  to  mount  the  stairs 
to  the  deck,  and  as  soon  as  she  got  there  the  wind 
struck  her  so  fiercely  that  it  almost  tore  away  the 


'UNCLE  HENRY!  UNCLE  HENRY  I"  CALLED  DOROTHY 


Ozma        of        Oz 

skirts  of  her  dress.  Yet  Dorothy  felt  a  sort  of 
joyous  excitement  in  defying  the  storm,  and  while 
she  held  fast  to  the  railing  she  peered  around  through 
the  gloom  and  thought  she  saw  the  dim  form  of  a 
man  clinging  to  a  mast  not  far  away  from  her.  This 
might  be  her  uncle,  so  she  called  as  loudly  as  she 
could: 

"Uncle  Henry  !      Uncle    Henry  !" 

But  the  wind  screeched  and  howled  so  madly 
that  she  scarce  heard  her  own  voice,  and  the  man 
certainly  failed  to  hear  her,  for  he  did  not  move. 

Dorothy  decided  she  must  go  to  him;  so  she  made 
a  dash  forward,  during  a  lull  in  the  storm,  to  where 
a  big  square  chicken-coop  had  been  lashed  to  the 
deck  with  ropes.  She  reached  this  place  in  safety, 
but  no  sooner  had  she  seized  fast  hold  of  the  slats  of 
the  big  box  in  which  the  chickens  were  kept  than 
the  wind,  as  if  enraged  because  the  little  girl  dared 
to  resist  its  power,  suddenly  redoubled  its  fury. 
With  a  scream  like  that  of  an  angry  giant  it  tore 
away  the  ropes  that  held  the  coop  and  lifted  it  high 
into  the  air,  with  Dorothy  still  clinging  to  the  slats. 
Around  and  over  it  whirled,  this  way  ani  that,  and 
a  few  moments  later  the  chicken-coop  dropped  far 
away  into  the  sea,  where  the  big  waves  caught  it 
and  slid  it  up-hill  to  a  foaming  crest  and  then  down- 

6 


The  Girl  in  the  Chicken-Coop 

hill  into  a  deep  valley,  as  if  it  were  nothing  more 
than  a  plaything  to  keep  them  amused. 

Dorothy  had  a  good  ducking,  you  may  be  sure, 
but  she  didn't  loose  her  presence  of  mind  even  for 
a  second.  She  kept  tight  hold  of  the  stout  slats 
and  as  soon  as  she  could  get  the  water  out  of  her 
eyes  she  saw  that  the  wind  had  ripped  the  cover 
from  the  coop,  and  the  poor  chickens  were  flutter- 
ing away  in  every  direction^  being  blown  by  the 
wind  until  they  looked  like  feather  dusters  without 
handles.  The  bottom  of  the  coop  was  made  of 
thick  boards,  so  Dorothy  found  she  was  clinging  to 
a  sort  of  raft,  with  sides  of  slats,  which  readily  bore 
up  her  weight.  After  coughing  the  water  out  of 
her  throat  and  getting  her  breath  again,  she  managed 
to  climb  over  the  slats  and  stand  upon  the  firm 
wooden  bottom  of  the  coop,  which  supported  her 
easily  enough. 

"Why,  Fve  got  a  ship  of  my  own!"  she  thought, 
more  amused  than  frightened  at  her  sudden  change 
of  condition;  and  then,  as  the  coop  climbed  up  to 
the  top  of  a  big  wave,  she  looked  eagerly  around 
for  the  shi"^  from  which  she  had  been  blown. 

It  was  far,  far  away,  by  this  time.  Perhaps  no 
one  on  board  had  yet  missed  her,  or  knew  of  her 
strange    adventure.       Down  into  a  valley  between 

7 


Ozma        of        Oz 

the  waves  the  coop  swept  her,  and  when  she  climbed 
another  crest  the  ship  looked  like  a  toy  boat,  it  was 
such  a  long  way  off.  Soon  it  had  entirely  disap- 
peared in  the  gloom,  and  then  Dorothy  gave  a  sigh 
of  regret  at  parting  with  Uncle  Henry  and  began 
to  wonder  what  was  going  to   happen  to  her  next. 

Just  now  she  was  tossing  on  the  bosom  of  a  big 
ocean,  with  nothing  to  keep  her  afloat  but  a  miser- 
able wooden  hen-coop  that  had  a  plank  bottom  and 
slatted  sides,  through  which  the  water  constantly 
splashed  and  wetted  her  through  to  the  skin!  And 
there  was  nothing  to  eat  when  she  became  hungry — 
as  she  was  sure  to  do  before  long — and  no  fresh 
water  to  drink  and  no  dry  clothes  to  put  on, 

"Well,  I  declare!"  she  exclaimed,  with  a  laugh. 
"You're  in  a  pretty  fix,  Dorothy  Gale,  I  can  tell 
you!  and  I  haven't  the  least  idea  how  you're  going 
to  get  out  of  it!  " 

As  if  to  add  to  her  troubles  the  night  was  now 
creeping  on,  and  the  gray  clouds  overhead  changed 
to  inky  blackness.  But  the  wind,  as  if  satisfied  at 
last  with  its  mischievous  pranks,  stopped  blowing 
this  ocean  and  hurried  away  to  another  part  of  the 
world  to  blow  something  else;  so  that  the  waves, 
not  being  joggled  any  more,  began  to  quiet  down 
and  behave  themselves. 


DOROTHY  AFLOAT  IN  THE  HEN-COOP 


Ozma        of        Oz 

It  was  lucky  for  Dorothy,  I  think,  that  the  storm 
subsided;  otherwise,  brave  though  she  was,  I  fear  she 
might  have  perished.  Many  children,  in  her  place, 
would  have  wept  and  given  way  to  despair;  but 
because  Dorothy  had  encountered  so  many  adven- 
tures and  come  safely  through  them  it  did  not  occur 
to  her  at  this  time  to  be  especially  afraid.  She  was 
wet  and  uncomfortable,  it  is  true;  but,  after  sighing 
that  one  sigh  I  told  you  of,  she  managed  to  recall 
some  of  her  customary  cheerfulness  and  decided  to 
patiently  await  whatever  her  fate  might  be. 

By  and  by  the  black  clouds  rolled  away  and 
showed  a  blue  sky  overhead,  with  a  silver  moon 
shining  sweetly  in  the  middle  of  it  and  little  stars 
winking  merrily  at  Dorothy  when  she  looked  their 
way.  The  coop  did  not  toss  around  any  more,  but 
rode  the  waves  more  gently — almost  like  a  cradle 
rocking — so  that  the  floor  upon  which  Dorothy 
stood  was  no  longer  swept  by  water  coming  through 
the  slats.  Seeing  this,  and  being  quite  exhausted  by 
the  excitement  of  the  past  few  hours,  the  little  girl 
decided  that  sleep  would  be  the  best  thing  to  restore 
her  strength  and  the  easiest  way  in  which  she  could 
pass  the  time.  The  floor  was  damp  and  she  was  her- 
self wringing  wet,  but  fortunately  this  was  a  warm 
climate  and  she  did  not  feel  at  all  cold. 

10 


The  Girl  in  the  Chicken-Coop 

So  she  sat  down  in  a  corner  of  the  coop,  leaned 
her  back  against  the  slats,  nodded  at  the  friendly 
stars  before  she  closed  her  eyes,  and  was  asleep  in 
half  a  minute. 


11 


strange   noise    awoke 
Dorothy,  who  opened  her 
eyes  to  find  that  day  had 
dawned  and   the   sun   was 
shining  brightly  in  a  clear  sky. 
She  had  been  dreaming  that  she 
was  back    in    Kansas    aga  n,  and 
playing  in   the  old  barn-yard   with 
the  calves  and  pigs  and  chickens  all 
around  her;  and  at  first,  as  she  rubbed 
the  sleep  from  her  eyes,  she  really  imag- 
ined she  was  there. 

«Kut-kut-kut,    ka-daw-kut!      Kut-kut- 
kut,  ka-daw-kut  I" 

Ah;  here  again  was  the  strange  noise  that  had 
awakened    her.       Surely  it  was  a  hen  cackling  I 


12 


The     Yellow     Hen 

But  her  wide-open  eyes  first  saw,  through  the  slats 
of  the  coop,  the  blue  waves  of  the  ocean,  now  calm 
and  placid,  and  her  thoughts  flew  back  to  the  past 
night,  so  full  of  danger  and  discomfort.  Also  she 
began  to  remember  that  she  was  a  waif  of  the 
storm,  adrift  upon  a  treacherous  and  unknown  sea. 

"  Kut-kut-kut,   ka-daw-w-w — kut !  " 

<^ What's  that?"  cried  Dorothy, starting  to  her  feet. 

"Why,  I've  just  laid  an  egg,  that's  all,"  replied  a 
small,  but  sharp  and  distinct  voice,  and  looking 
around  her  the  little  girl  discovered  a  yellow  hen 
squatting  in  the  opposite  corner  of  the  coop. 

"Dear  me!"  she  exclaimed,  in  surprise;  "have 
you  been  here  all  night,  too  ? " 

"Of  course,"  answered  the  hen,  fluttering  her 
wings  and  yawning.  "When  the  coop  blew  away 
from  the  ship  I  clung  fast  to  this  corner,  with  claws 
and  beak,  for  I  knew  if  I  fell  into  the  water  I'd 
surely  be  drowned.  Indeed,  I  nearly  drowned,  as 
it  was,  with  all  that  water  washing  over  me.  I 
never  was  so  wet  before  in  my  life!" 

"Yes,"  agreed  Dorothy,  "it  was  pretty  wet,  for  a 
time,  I  know.      But  do  you  feel  comfor'ble  now?" 

"Not  very.  The  sun  has  helped  to  dry  my 
feathers,  as  it  has  your  dress,  and  I  feel  better  since 
I  laid  my  morning  egg.      But  what's  to  become  of 

13 


Ozma        of        Oz 

us,  I  should  like  to  know,  afloat  on  this  big  pond  ? " 

"I'd  like  to  know  that,  too,"  said  Dorothy.  "But, 
tell  me;  how  does  it  happen  that  you  are  able  to 
talk?     I  thought  hens  could  only  cluck  and  cackle." 

"Why,  as  for  that,"  answered  the  yellow  hen 
thoughtfully,  "I've  clucked  and  cackled  all  my  life, 
and  never  spoken  a  word  before  this  morning,  that 
I  can  remember.  But  when  you  asked  a  question, 
a  minute  ago,  it  seemed  the  most  natural  thing  in 
the  world  to  answer  you.  So  I  spoke,  and  I  seem 
to  keep  on  speaking,  just  as  you  and  other  human 
beings  do.      Strange,  isn't  it?" 

"Very,"  replied  Dorothy.  "If  we  were  in  the 
Land  of  Oz,  I  wouldn't  think  it  so  queer,  because 
many  of  the  animals  can  talk  in  that  fairy  country. 
But  out  here  in  the  ocean  must  be  a  good  long  way 
from  Oz." 

"How  is  my  grammar?"  asked  the  yellow  hen, 
anxiously.  "Do  I  speak  quite  properly,  in  your 
judgment?" 

"Yes,"  said  Dorothy,  "you  do  very  well,  for  a 
beginner." 

"I'm  glad  to  know  that,"  continued  the  yellow 
hen,  in  a  confidential  tone;  "because,  if  one  is  going 
to  talk,  it's  best  to  talk  correctly.  The  red  rooster 
has  often  said  that  my  cluck  and  my  cackle  were 

14 


The     Yellow     Hen 

quite  perfect;  and  now  it*s  a  comfort  to  know  I 
am  talking  properly." 

"Fm  beginning  to  get  hungry,"  remarked 
Dorothy.  "It's  breakfast  time;  but  there's  no 
breakfast." 

"You  may  have  my  egg,"  said  the  yellow  hen. 
"I  don't  care  for  it,  you  know.*' 

"Don't  you  want  to  hatch  it?"  asked  the  little 
girl,  in  surprise. 

"No,  indeed;  I  never  care  to  hatch  eggs  unless 
I've  a  nice  snug  nest,  in  some  quiet  place,  with  a 
baker's  dozen  of  eggs  under  me.  That's  thirteen, 
you  know,  and  it's  a  lucky  number  for  hens.  So 
you  may  as  well  eat  this  egg." 

"Oh,  I  couldn't  poss'bly  eat  it,  unless  it  was 
cooked,"  exclaimed  Dorothy.  "But  I'm  much 
obliged  for  your  kindness,  just  the  same." 

"Don't  mention  it,  my  dear,"  answered  the  hen, 
calmly,  and  began  pruning  her  feathers. 

For  a  moment  Dorothy  stood  looking  out  over 
the  wide  sea.  She  was  still  thinking  of  the  egg, 
though;  so  presently  she  asked: 

"Why  do  you  lay  eggs,  when  you  don't  expect 
to  hatch  them  ? " 

"It's  a  habit  I  have,"  replied  the  yellow  hen.  "It 
has  always  been  my  pride  to  lay  a  fresh  egg  every 

15 


Ozma        of        Oz 

morning,  except  when  I'm  moulting.  I  never 
feel  like  having  my  morning  cackle  till  the  egg  is 
properly  laid,  and  without  the  chance  to  cackle  I 
would  not  be  happy." 

"It's  strange,"  said  the  girl,  reflectively;  "But  as 
I'm  not  a  hen  I  can't  be  'spected  to  understand 
that." 

"Certainly  not,  my  dear." 

Then  Dorothy  fell  silent  again.  The  yellow  hen 
was  some  company,  and  a  bit  of  comfort,  too;  but 
it  was  dreadfully  lonely  out  on  the  big  ocean, 
nevertheless. 

After  a  time  the  hen  flew  up  and  perched  upon 
the  topmost  slat  of  the  coop,  which  was  a  little  above 
Dorothy's  head  when  she  was  sitting  upon  the  bot- 
tom, as  she  had  been  doing  for  some  moments  past. 

"Why,  we  are  not  far  from  land!"  exclaimed  the 
hen. 

"Where?  Where  is  it?"  cried  Dorothy,  jumping 
up  in  great  excitement. 

"Over  there  a  little  way,"  answered  the  hen,  nod- 
ding her  head  in  a  certain  direction.  "We  seem  to 
to  be  drifting  toward  it,  so  that  before  noon  we 
ought  to  find  ourselves  upon  dry  land  again." 

"I  shall  like  that!"  said  Dorothy,  with  a  little 
sigh,  for  her  feet  and  legs  were  still  wetted  now  and 

16 


THE  YELLOW  HEN 
17 


Ozma        of        Oz 

then  by  the  sea-water  that  came  through  the  open 
slats. 

"So  shall  I/'  answered  her  companion.  "There 
is  nothing  in  the  world  so  miserable  as  a  wet  hen." 

The  land,  which  they  seemed  to  be  rapidly  ap- 
proaching, since  it  grew  more  distinct  every  minute, 
was  quite  beautiful  as  viewed  by  the  little  girl  in  the 
floating  hen-coop.  Next  to  the  water  was  a  broad 
beach  of  white  sand  and  gravel,  and  farther  back 
were  several  rocky  hills,  while  beyond  these  appeared 
a  strip  of  green  trees  that  marked  the  edge  of  a 
forest.  But  there  were  no  houses  to  be  seen,  nor 
any  sign  of  people  who  might  inhabit  this  unknown 
land. 

"I  hope  we  shall  find  something  to  eat,"  said 
Dorothy,  looking  eagerly  at  the  pretty  beach  toward 
which  they  drifted.  "It's  long  past  breakfast  time, 
now." 

"I'm  a  trifle  hungry,  myself,"  declared  the  yellow 
hen, 

"Why  don't  you  eat  the  egg?"  asked  the  child. 
"You  don't  need  to  have  your  food  cooked,  as  I  do." 

"Do  you  take  me  for  a  cannibal?"  cried  the  hen, 
indignantly.  "I  do  not  know  what  I  have  said  or 
done  that  leads  vou  to  insult  me!" 

"I  beg  your  pardon,  I'm  sure  Mrs. — Mrs. — by  the 

18 


The     Yellow      Hen 

way,  may  I  inquire  your  name,  ma*am?'*  asked  the 
little  girl. 

"My  name  is  Bill,"  said  the  yellow  hen,  some- 
what gruffly. 

"Bill!      Why,  that's  a  boy's  name." 

"What  difFerence  does  that  make?" 

"You  're  a  lady  hen,  are  n't  you?" 

"  Of  course.  But  when  I  was  first  hatched  out 
no  one  could  tell  whether  I  was  going  to  be  a  hen 
or  a  rooster;  so  the  little  boy  at  the  farm  where  I 
was  born  called  me  Bill,  and  made  a  pet  of  me 
because  I  was  the  only  yellow  chicken  in  the  whole 
brood.  When  I  grew  up,  and  he  found  that  I 
didn't  crow  and  fight,  as  all  the  roosters  do,  he  did 
not  think  to  change  my  name,  and  every  creature 
in  the  barn-yard,  as  well  as  the  people  in  the  house, 
knew  me  as  <Bill.'  So  Bill  I've  always  been  called, 
and  Bill  is  my  name." 

"But  it's  all  wrong,  you  know,"  declared  Dorothy, 
earnestly;  "and,  if  you  don't  mind,  I  shall  call  you 
<Billina.'  Putting  the  <eena'  on  the  end  makes  it  a 
girl's  name,  you  see." 

"Oh,  I  don't  mind  it  in  the  least,"  returned  the 
yellow  hen.  "It  doesn't  matter  at  all  what  you  call 
me,  so  long  as  I  know  the  name  means  me^ 

"Very  well,  Billina.      My  name  is  Dorothy  Gale 

19 


Ozma        of        Oz 

— -just  Dorothy  to  my  friends  and  Miss  Gale  to  stran- 
gers. You  may  call  me  Dorothy,  if  you  like.  We're 
getting  very  near  the  shore.  Do  you  suppose  it  is 
too  deep  for  me  to  wade  the  rest  of  the  way?" 

"Wait  a  few  minutes  longer.  The  sunshine  is 
warm  and  pleasant,  and  we  are  in  no  hurry." 

"But  my  feet  are  all  wet  and  soggy/'  said  the  girl. 
"My  dress  is  dry  enough,  but  I  won't  feel  real  com- 
for'ble  till  I  get  my  feet  dried." 

She  waited,  however,  as  the  hen  advised,  and  be- 
fore long  the  big  wooden  coop  grated  gently  on 
the  sandy  beach  and  the  dangerous  voyage  was  over. 

It  did  not  take  the  castaways  long  to  reach  the 
shore,  you  may  be  sure.  The  yellow  hen  flew  to 
the  sands  at  once,  but  Dorothy  had  to  climb  over 
the  high  slats.  Still,  for  a  country  girl,  that  was  not 
much  of  a  feat,  and  as  soon  as  she  was  safe  ashore 
Dorothy  drew  off  her  wet  shoes  and  stockings  and 
spread  them  upon  the  sun-warmed  beach  to  dry. 

Then  she  sat  down  and  watched  Billina,  who  was 
pick -pecking  away  with  her  sharp  bill  in  the  sand 
and  gravel,  which  she  scratched  up  and  turned  over 
with  her  strong  claws. 

"What  are  you  doing?"  asked  Dorothy. 

"Getting  my  breakfast,  of  course,"  murmured  the 
hen,  busily  pecking  away. 

20 


"HOW  DREADFULI"  EXCLAIMED  DOROTHY 


Ozma        of        Oz 

"What  do  you  find  ?  '*  inquired  the  girl,  curiously. 

"Oh,  some  fat  red  ants,  and  some  sand-bugs,  and 
once  in  a  while  a  tiny  crab.  They  are  very  sweet 
and  nice,  I  assure  you." 

"How  dreadful!"  exclaimed  Dorothy,  in  a 
shocked  voice. 

"What  is  dreadful?"  asked  the  hen,  lifting  her 
head  to  gaze  with  one  bright  eye  at  her  companion. 

"Why,  eating  live  things,  and  horrid  bugs,  and 
crawly  ants.     You  ought  to  be  'shamed  of  yourself!  " 

"Goodness  me!"  returned  the  hen,  in  a  puzzled 
tone;  "how  queer  you  are,  Dorothy!  Live  things 
are  much  fresher  and  more  wholesome  than  dead 
ones,  and  you  humans  eat  all  sorts  of  dead  creatures." 

"We  don't!"  said  Dorothy. 

"You  do,  indeed,"  answered  Billina.  "You  eat 
lambs  and  sheep  and  cows  and  pigs  and  even  chickens." 

"But  we  cook  'em,"  said  Dorothy,  triumphantly. 

"What  difference  does  that  make?" 

"A  good  deal,"  said  the  girl,  in  a  graver  tone. 
"I  can't  just  'splain  the  diff'rence,  but  it's  there. 
And,  anyhow,  we  never  eat  such  dreadful  things  as 
hugsT 

"But  you  eat  the  chickens  that  eat  the  bugs," 
retorted  the  yellow  hen,  with  an  odd  cackle.  "So 
you  are  just  as  bad  as  we  chickens  are." 

22 


The     Yellow     Hen 

This  made  Dorothy  thoughtful.  What  Billina 
said  was  true  enough,  and  it  almost  took  away  her 
appetite  for  breakfast.  As  for  the  yellow  hen,  she 
continued  to  peck  away  at  the  sand  busily,  and 
seemed  quite  contented  with  her  bill-of-fare. 

Finally,  down  near  the  water's  edge,  Billina  stuck 
her  bill  deep  into  the  sand,  and  then  drew  back  and 
shivered. 

«Ow!"  she  cried.  "I  struck  metal,  that  time, 
and  it  nearly  broke  my  beak." 

"It  prob'bly  was  a  rock,"  said  Dorothy,  carelessly. 

"Nonsense.  I  know  a  rock  from  metal,  I  guess," 
said  the  hen.      "There's  a  different  feel  to  it." 

"But  there  couldn't  be  any  metal  on  this  wild, 
deserted  seashore,"  persisted  the  girl.  "Where's  the 
place?     I'll  dig  it  up,  and  prove  to  you  I'm  right*" 

Billina  showed  her  the  place  where  she  had 
"stubbed  her  bill,"  as  she  expressed  it,  and  Dorothy 
dug  away  the  sand  until  she  felt  something  hard. 
Then,  thrusting  in  her  hand,  she  pulled  the  thing 
out,  and  discovered  it  to  be  a  large  sized  golden  key 
— rather  old,  but  still  bright  and  of  perfect  shape. 

"What  did  I  tell  you?"  cried  the  hen,  with  a 
cackle  of  triumph.  "Can  I  tell  metal  when  I  bump 
into  it,  or  is  the  thing  a  rock  ? " 

"It's  metal, sure  enough,"  answered  the  child,  gaz- 

23 


o 


m 


o 


f     o 


ing  thoughtfully  at  the  curious  thing  she  had  found. 
"I  think  it  is  pure  gold,  and  it  must  have  lain  hidden 
in  the  sand  for  a  long  time.  How  do  you  suppose 
it  came  there,  Billina?  And  what  do  you  suppose 
this  mysterious  key  unlocks  ?  " 

"I  can't  say,'*  replied  the  hen.  "You  ought  to 
know  more  about  locks  and  keys  than  I  do." 

Dorothy  glanced  around.  There  was  no  sign  of 
any  house  in  that  part  of  the  country,  and  she 
reasoned  that  every  key  must  fit  a  lock  and  every 
lock  must  have  a  purpose.  Perhaps  the  key  had 
been  lost  by  somebody  who  lived  far  away,  but  had 
wandered  on  this  very  shore. 

Musing  on  these  things  the  girl  put  the  key  in 
the  pocket  of  her  dress  and  then  slowly  drew  on  her 
shoes  and  stockings,  which  the  sun  had  fully  dried. 

"I  b'lieve,  Billina,"  she  said,  "Til  have  a  look 
'round,  and  see  if  I  can  find  some  breakfast." 


24 


Letters  m  the  >Sand 


King   V 


a  little  way  back  from 
the  water's  edge,  toward 
the  grove  of  trees,  Dorothy 
came  to  a  flat  stretch  of  white 
sand  that  seemed  to  have  queer 
signs  marked  upon  its   surface, 
just  as  one  would  write  upon  sand 
with  a  stick. 

"What  does  it  say?"  she  asked  the 
yellow  hen,  who  trotted  along  beside 
her  in  a  rather  dignified  fashion. 

"How  should  I   know?"  returned  the 
hen.     "I  cannot  read." 

"Oh I      Cant  you?" 

"Certainly  not;   I've  never  been  to   school, 
you  know." 

25 


Ozma        of        Oz 

"Well,  I  have/'  admitted  Dorothy;  "but  the  let- 
ters are  big  and  far  apart,  and  it's  hard  to  spell  out 
the  words." 

But  she  looked  at  each  letter  carefully,  and  fin- 
ally discovered  that  these  words  were  written  in  the 
sand: 

"BEWARE   THE  WHEELERS!" 

"That's  rather  strange,"  declared  the  hen,  when 
Dorothy  had  read  aloud  the  words.  "What  do  you 
suppose  the  Wheelers  are?" 

"  Folks  that  wheel,  I  guess.  They  must  have 
wheelbarrows,  or  baby -cabs  or  hand -carts,"  said 
Dorothy. 

<^  Perhaps  they're  automobiles,"  suggested  the  yel- 
low hen.  "There  is  no  need  to  beware  of  baby- 
cabs  and  wheelbarrows;  but  automobiles  are  dan- 
gerous things.  Several  of  my  friends  have  been  run 
over  by  them." 

"It  can't  be  auto'biles,"  replied  the  girl,  "for  this 
is  a  new,  wild  country,  without  even  trolley-cars  or 
tel'phones.  The  people  here  havn't  been  discovered 
yet,  I'm  sure;  that  is,  if  there  are  any  people.  So 
I  don't  b'lieve  there  can  be  any  auto'biles,  Billina." 

"  Perhaps  not,'*  admitted  the  yellow  hen.  "Where 
are  you  going  now?" 

26 


The   Letters    in    the    Sand 

"Over  to  those  trees,  to  see  if  I  can  find  some 
fruit  or  nuts,**  answered  Dorothy. 

She  tramped  across  the  sand,  skirting  the  foot  of 
one  of  the  little  rocky  hills  that  stood  near,  and 
soon  reached  the  edge  of  the  forest. 

At  first  she  was  greatly  disappointed,  because  the 
nearer  trees  were  all  punita,  or  cotton-wood  or  eu- 
calyptus, and  bore  no  fruit  or  nuts  at  all.  But,  bye 
and  bye,  when  she  was  almost  in  despair,  the  little 
girl  came  upon  two  trees  that  promised  to  furnish 
her  with  plenty  of  food 

One  was  quite  full  of  square  paper  boxes,  which 
grew  in  clusters  on  all  the  limbs,  and  upon  the 
biggest  and  ripest  boxes  the  word  "Lunch'*  could 
be  read,  in  neat  raised  letters.  This  tree  seemed  to 
bear  all  the  year  around,  for  there  were  lunch-box 
blossoms  on  some  of  the  branches,  and  on  others 
tiny  little  lunch-boxes  that  were  as  yet  quite  green, 
and  evidently  not  fit  to  eat  until  they  had  grown 
bigger. 

The  leaves  of  this  tree  were  all  paper  napkins, 
and  it  presented  a  very  pleasing  appearance  to  the 
hungry  little  girl. 

But  the  tree  next  to  the  lunch-box  tree  was  even 
more  wonderful,  for  it  bore  quantities  of  tin  dinner- 
pails,  which  were  so  full  and  heavy  that  the  stout 

27 


Ozma        of        Oz 

branches  bent  underneath  their  weight.  Some  were 
small  and  dark-brown  in  color;  those  larger  were 
of  a  dull  tin  color;  but  the  really  ripe  ones  were 
pails  of  bright  tin  that  shone  and  glistened  beauti- 
fully in  the  rays  of  sunshine  that  touched  them. 

Dorothy  was  delighted,  and  even  the  yellow  hen 
acknowledged  that  she  was  surprised. 

The  little  girl  stood  on  tip-toe  and  picked  one 
of  the  nicest  and  biggest  lunch-boxes,  and  then  she 
sat  down  upon  the  ground  and  eagerly  opened  it. 
Inside  she  found,  nicely  wrapped  in  white  papers,  a 
ham  sandwich,  a  piece  of  sponge-cake,  a  pickle,  a 
slice  of  new  cheese  and  an  apple.  Each  thing  had 
a  separate  stem,  and  so  had  to  be  picked  off  the  side 
of  the  box;  but  Dorothy  found  them  all  to  be  de- 
licious, and  she  ate  every  bit  of  luncheon  in  the  box 
before  she  had  finished. 

"A  lunch  isn't  zactly  breakfast,"  she  said  to  Bil- 
lina,  who  sat  beside  her  curiously  watching.  ^*But 
when  one  is  hungry  one  can  eat  even  supper  in  the 
morning,  and  not  complain." 

"I  hope  your  lunch-box  was  perfectly  ripe,"  ob- 
ser\^ed  the  yellow  hen, in  a  anxious  tone.  "So  much 
sickness  is  caused  by  eating  green  things." 

«Oh,  I'm  sure  it  was  ripe,"  declared  Dorothy, 
<<all,  that  is,  'cept  the  pickle,  and  a  pickle  just  has 

28 


THE  LTITLE  GIRL  PICKED  ONE  OF  THE  LUNCH-BOXES 


Ozma        of        Oz 

to  be  green,  Billina.  But  everything  tasted  perfect- 
ly splendid,  and  Vd  rather  have  it  than  a  church 
picnic.  And  now  I  think  I'll  pick  a  dinner-pail, 
to  have  when  I  get  hungry  again,  and  then  we'll 
start  out  and  'splore  the  country,  and  see  where 
we  are." 

"Havn't  you  any  idea  what  country  this  is?" 
inquired  Billina. 

"None  at  all.  But  listen:  I'm  quite  sure  it's  a  fairy 
country,  or  such  things  as  lunch-boxes  and  dinner- 
pails  wouldn't  be  growing  upon  trees.  Besides, 
Billina,  being  a  hen,  you  wouldn't  be  able  to  talk 
in  any  civ'lized  country,  like  Kansas,  where  no 
fairies  live  at  all." 

"Perhaps  we're  in  the  Land  of  Oz,"  said  the  hen, 
thoughtfully. 

"No,  that  can't  be,"  answered  the  little  girl; 
because  I've  been  to  the  Land  of  Oz,  and  it's  all 
surrounded  by  a  horrid  desert  that  no  one  can  cross." 

"Then  how  did  you  get  away  from  there  again?" 
asked  Billina. 

"I  had  a  pair  of  silver  shoes,  that  carried  me 
through  the  air;  but  I  lost  them,"  said  Dorothy. 

"Ah,  indeed,"  remarked  the  vellow  hen,  in  a  tone 
of  unbelief. 

"Anyhow,"   resumed   the  girl,  "there  is   no  sea- 

30 


The    Letters    in    the    Sand 

shore  near  the  Land  of  Oz,  so  this  must  surely  be 
some  other  fairy  country.'* 

"While  she  was  speaking  she  selected  a  bright 
and  pretty  dinner-pail  that  seemed  to  have  a  stout 
handle,  and  picked  it  from  its  branch.  Then,  ac- 
companied by  the  yellow  hen,  she  walked  out  of 
the  shadow  of  the  trees  toward  the  sea-shore. 

They  were  part  way  across  the  sands  when  Bil- 
Hna  suddenly  cried,  in  a  voice  of  terror: 

« What's  that?" 


31 


Ozma       of       Oz 

Dorothy  turned  quickly  around,  and  saw  coming 
out  of  a  path  that  led  from  between  the  trees  the 
most  peculiar  person  her  eyes  had  ever  beheld. 

It  had  the  form  of  a  man,  except  that  it  walked, 
or  rather  rolled,  upon  all  fours,  and  its  legs  were  the 
same  length  as  its  arms,  giving  them  the  appearance 
of  the  four  legs  of  a  beast.  Yet  it  was  no  beast  that 
Dorothy  had  discovered,  for  the  person  was  clothed 
most  gorgeously  in  embroidered  garments  of  many 
colors,  and  wore  a  straw  hat  perched  jauntily  upon 
the  side  of  its  head.  But  it  differed  from  human 
beings  in  this  respect,  that  instead  of  hands  and  feet 
there  grew  at  the  end  of  its  arms  and  legs  round 
wheels,  and  by  means  of  these  wheels  it  rolled  very 
swiftly  over  the  level  ground.  Afterward  Dorothy 
found  that  these  odd  wheels  were  of  the  same  hard 
substance  that  our  finger-nails  and  toe-nails  are 
composed  of,  and  she  also  learned  that  creatures  of 
this  strange  race  were  born  in  this  queer  fashion. 
But  when  our  little  girl  first  caught  sight  of  the  first 
individual  of  a  race  that  was  destined  to  cause  her 
a  lot  of  trouble,  she  had  an  idea  that  the  brilliantly- 
clothed  personage  was  on  roller-skates,  which  were 
attached  to  his  hands  as  well  as  to  his  feet. 

"Run!  "  screamed  the  yellow  hen, fluttering  away 
in  great  fright.     "It's  a  Wheeler!'* 

32 


"ITS  A  WHEELERI" 


Ozma        of        Oz 

"A  Wheeler?"  exclaimed  Dorothy.  "What  can 
that  be?'* 

"Don't  you  remember  the  warning  in  the  sand: 
< Beware  the  Wheelers'?      Run,  I  tell  you — run!" 

So  Dorothy  ran,  and  the  Wheeler  gave  a  sharp, 
wild  cry  and  came  after  her  in  full  chase. 

Looking  over  her  shoulder  as  she  ran,  the  girl  now 
saw  a  great  procession  of  Wheelers  emerging  from 
the  forest — dozens  and  dozens  of  them — all  clad  in 
splendid,  tight -fitting  garments  and  all  rolling 
swiftly  toward  her  and  uttering  their  wild,  strange 
cries. 

"  They're  sure  to  catch  us !  "  panted  the  girl,  who 
was  still  carrying  the  heavy  dinner-pail  she  had 
picked.      "I  can't  run  much  farther,  Billina." 

"Climb  up  this  hill, — quick!"  said  the  hen;  and 
Dorothy  found  she  was  very  near  to  the  heap  of 
loose  and  jagged  rocks  they  had  passed  on  their 
way  to  the  forest.  The  yellow  hen  was  even  now 
fluttering  among  the  rocks,  and  Dorothy  followed 
as  best  she  could,  half  climbing  and  half  tumbling 
up  the  rough  and  rugged  steep. 

She  was  none  too  soon,  for  the  foremost  Wheeler 
reached  the  hill  a  moment  after  her;  but  while  the 
girl  scrambled  up  the  rocks  the  creature  stopped 
short  with  howls  of  rage  and  disappointment. 

34 


The    Letters    in    the   Sand 

Dorothy  now  heard  the  yellow  hen  laughing,  in 
her  cackling,  henny  way. 

"Don't  hurry,  my  dear,"  cried  Billina.  "They 
can't  follow  us  among  these  rocks,  so  we're  safe 
enough  now." 

Dorothy  stopped  at  once  and  sat  down  upon  a 
broad  boulder,  for  she  was  all  out  of  breath. 

The  rest  of  the  Wheelers  had  now  reached  the 
foot  of  the  hill,  but  it  was  evident  that  their  wheels 
would  not  roll  upon  the  rough  and  jagged  rocks, 
and  therefore  they  were  helpless  to  follow  Dorothy 
and  the  hen  to  where  they  had  taken  refuge.  But 
they  circled  all  around  the  little  hill,  so  the  child 
and  Billina  were  fast  prisoners  and  could  not  come 
down  without  being  captured. 

Then  the  creatures  shook  their  front  wheels  at 
Dorothy  in  a  threatening  manner,  and  it  seemed 
they  were  able  to  speak  as  well  as  to  make  their 
dreadful  outcries,  for  several  of  them  shouted : 

"We'll  get  you  in  time,  never  fear!  And  when 
we  do  get  you,  we'll  tear  you  into  little  bits ! " 

"Why  are  you  so  cruel  to  me?"  asked  Dorothy. 
"I'm  a  stranger  in  your  country,  and  have  done  you 
no  harm." 

"No  harm!"  cried  one  who  seemed  to  be  their 
leader.     "Did  you  not  pick  our  lunch-boxes  and 

35 


o 


m 


o 


f    o 


dinner-pails?  Have  you  not  a  stolen  dinner-pail 
still  in  your  hand  ?  " 

"I  only  picked  one  of  each,"  she  answered.  "I 
was  hungry,  and  I  didn't  know  the  trees  were  yours." 

"That  is  no  excuse,"  retorted  the  leader,  who 
was  clothed  in  a  most  gorgeous  suit.  "It  is  the  law 
here  that  whoever  picks  a  dinner-pail  without  our 
permission  must  die  immediately." 

"Don't  you  believe  him,"  said  Billina.  "I'm 
sure  the  trees  do  not  belong  to  these  awful  creatures. 
They  are  fit  for  any  mischief,  and  it's  my  opinion 
they  would  try  to  kill  us  just  the  same  if  you  hadn't 
picked  a  dinner-pail." 

"I  think  so,  too,"  agreed  Dorothv.  "But  what 
shall  we  do  now?" 

"Stay  where  we  are,"  advised  the  yellow  hen. 
"We  are  safe  from  the  Wheelers  until  we  starve  to 
death,  anyhow;  and  before  that  time  comes  a  good 
many  things  can  happen." 


36 


'Ektok  iSfeMa 
Nan 


an  hour  or  so  most  of 
the  band    of  Wheelers 
rolled  back  into  the  forest, 
leaving  only   three   of   their 
number    to    guard    the   hill. 
These  curled  themselves  up  like 
big  dogs  and  pretended  to  go  to 
sleep  on  the  sands;  but  neither  Dor- 
othy nor  Billina  were  fooled  by  this 
trick,  so  they   remained   in   security 
among  the  rocks  and  paid  no  attention 
to  their  cunning  enemies. 

Finally  the  hen,  fluttering  over  the  mound, 
exclaimed:  "Why,  here's  a  path!" 

So  Dorothy  at  once  clambered  to  where  Bill-    -j 
ina  sat,  and  there,  sure  enough,  was  a  smooth  path 

37 


Ozma        of       Oz 

cut  between  the  rocks.  It  seemed  to  wind  around 
the  mound  from  top  to  bottom,  like  a  cork-screw, 
twisting  here  and  there  between  the  rough  boulders 
but  always  remaining  level  and  easy  to  walk  upon. 

Indeed,  Dorothy  wondered  at  first  why  the  Wheel- 
ers did  not  roll  up  this  path;  but  when  she  followed 
it  to  the  foot  of  the  mound  she  found  that  several 
big  pieces  of  rock  had  been  placed  directly  across 
the  end  of  the  way,  thus  preventing  any  one  outside 
from  seeing  it  and  also  preventing  the  Wheelers 
from  using  it  to  climb  up  the  mound. 

Then  Dorothy  walked  back  up  the  path,  and 
followed  it  until  she  came  to  the  very  top  of  the 
hill,  where  a  solitary  round  rock  stood  that  was 
bigger  than  any  of  the  others  surrounding  it.  The 
path  came  to  an  end  just  beside  this  great  rock,  and 
for  a  moment  it  puzzled  the  girl  to  know  why  the 
path  had  been  made  at  all.  But  the  hen,  who  had 
been  gravely  following  her  around  and  was  now 
perched  upon  a  point  of  rock  behind  Dorothy, 
suddenly  remarked: 

"It  looks  something  like  a  door,  doesn't  it?" 

"What  looks  like  a  door?"  enquired  the  child. 

"Why,  that  crack  in  the  rock,  just  facing  you,'' 
replied  Billina,  whose  little  round  eyes  were  very 
sharp  and  seemed  to  see  everything.      "It  runs  up 

38 


Tiktok,  The  Machine  Man 


one  side  and  down  the  other,  and  across  the  top 
and  the  bottom." 

"What  does?" 

"Why,  the  crack.  So  I  think  it  must  be  a  door 
of  rock,  although  I  do  not  see  any  hinges." 

«Oh,  yes,"  said  Dorothy,  now  observing  for  the 
first  time  the  crack  in  the  rock.  "And  isn't  this  a 
key-hole,  Billina?"  pointing  to  a  round,  deep  hole 
at  one  side  of  the  door. 

"Of  course.      If  we  only  had  the  key,  now,  we 

39 


Ozma        of        Oz 

could  unlock  it  and  see  what  is  there/'  replied  the 
yellow  hen.  "May  be  it's  a  treasure  chamber  full 
of  diamonds  and  rubies,  or  heaps  of  shining  gold, 
or 

"That  reminds  me,"  said  Dorothy,  "of  the  golden 
key  I  picked  up  on  the  shore.  Do  you  think  that 
it  would  fit  this  key-hole,  Billina?" 

"Try  it  and  see,"  suggested  the  hen. 

So  Dorothy  searched  in  the  pocket  of  her  dress 
and  found  the  golden  key.  And  when  she  had  put 
it  into  the  hole  of  the  rock,  and  turned  it,  a  sudden 
sharp  snap  was  heard;  then,  with  a  solemn  creak 
that  made  the  shivers  run  down  the  child's  back,  the 
face  of  thf  /ock  fell  outward,  like  a  door  on  hinges, 
and  revealed  a  small  dark  chamber  just  inside. 

"Good  gracious!"  cried  Dorothy,  shrinking  back 
as  far  as  the  narrow  path  would  let  her. 

For,  standing  within  the  narrow  chamber  of  rock, 
was  the  form  of  a  man — or,  at  least,  it  seemed  like 
a  man,  in  the  dim  light.  He  was  only  about  as  tall 
as  Dorothy  herself,  and  his  body  was  round  as  a 
ball  and  made  out  of  burnished  copper.  Also  his 
head  and  limbs  were  copper,  and  these  were  jointed 
or  hinged  to  his  body  in  a  peculiar  way,  with  metal 
caps  over  the  joints,  like  the  armor  worn  by  knights 
in  days  of  old.      He  stood  perfectly  still,  and  where 

40 


THIS  COPPER  MAN  IS  NOT  AUVE  AT  ALL' 


Ozma        of        Oz 

the  light  struck  upon  his  form  it  glittered  as  if  made 
of  pure  gold. 

"Don't  be  frightened,"  called  Billina,  from  her 
perch.    ^"It  isn't  alive." 

"I  see  it  isn't,"  replied  the  girl,  drawing  a  long 
breath. 

"It  is  only  made  out  of  copper,  like  the  old  kettle 
in  the  barn -yard  at  home,"  continued  the  hen, 
turning  her  head  first  to  one  side  and  then  to  the 
other,  so  that  both  her  little  round  eyes  could 
examine  the  object. 

"Once,"  said  Dorothy,  "I  knew  a  man  made  out 
of  tin,  who  was  a  woodman  named  Nick  Chopper. 
But  he  was  as  alive  as  we  are,  'cause  he  was  born  a  real 
man,  and  got  his  tin  body  a  little  at  a  time — first 
a  leg  and  then  a  finger  and  then  an  ear — for  the 
reason  that  he  had  so  many  accidents  with  his  axe, 
and  cut  himself  up  in  a  very  careless  manner." 

"Oh,"  said  the  hen,  with  a  sniff,  as  if  she  did  not 
believe  the  story. 

"But  this  copper  man,"  continued  Dorothy, 
looking  at  it  with  big  eyes,  "is  not  alive  at  all,  and 
I  wonder  what  it  was  made  for,  and  why  it  was 
locked  up  in  this  queer  place." 

"That  is  a  mystery,"  remarked  the  hen,  twisting 
her  head  to' arrange  her  wing-feathers  with  her  bill. 

42 


Tiktok,  The  Machine  Man 

Dorothy  stepped  inside  the  little  room  to  get  a 
back  view  of  the  copper  man,  and  in  this  way  dis- 
covered a  printed  card  that  hung  between  his  shoul- 
ders, it  being  suspended  from  a  small  copper  peg  at 
the  back  of  his  neck.  She  unfastened  this  card  and 
returned  to  the  path,  where  the  light  was  better,  and 
sat  herself  down  upon  a  slab  of  rock  to  read  the 
printing. 

"What  does  it  say?"  asked  the  hen,  curiously. 

Dorothy  read  the  card  aloud,  spelling  out  the  big 
words  with  some  diiEculty;  and  this  is  what  she  read: 


SMITH  ca,  TINKER'S 
Patent  Double- Action,  Extra-Responsive, 

Thought-Creating,  Perfect-Talking 
c^TWECHANICAL    CMAN 

Fitted  with  our  Special  Clock- Work  Attachment 
Thinks,    Speaks,    Acts,    and    Does    Everything   but    Live. 

Manufactured  only  at  our  Works  at  Evna,  Land  of  Ev. 
All  infringements  will  be  promptly  Prosecuted  according  to  Law. 


"How  queer!*'  said  the  yellow  hen.      "Do  you 
think  that  is  all  true,  my  dear?" 


43 


Ozma        of        Oz 

"  I    don't   know,"    answered    Dorothy,   who    had 
more  to  read.      "Listen  to  this,  Billina:" 


DIRECTIONS  FOR  USING: 

For  THINKING:— Wind  the  Clock-work   Man  xinder  his 
left  arm,  (marked  No.  1.) 

For  SPEAKING:— Wind  the  Clock-work  Man  under  his 
right  arm,  (marked  No.  2.) 

For  WALKING  and  ACTION:— Wind  Clock-work  in  the 
middle  of  his  back,  (marked  No.  3.) 

N.  B. — This  Mechanism  is  guaranteed  to  work  perfectly  for  a  thousand  years. 


"Well,  I  declare!'*  gasped  the  yellow  hen,  in 
amazement;  "if  the  copper  man  can  do  half  of  these 
things  he  is  a  very  wonderful  machine.  But  I  suppose 
it  is  all  humbug,  like  so  many  other  patented  articles." 

"We  might  wind  him  up,"  suggested  Dorothy, 
"and  see  what  he'll  do." 

"Where  is  the  key  to  the  clock-work?"  asked 
Billina. 

"Hanging  on  the  peg  where  I  found  the  card." 

"Then,"  said  the  hen,  "let  us  try  him,  and  find 
out  if  he  will  go.  He  is  warranted  for  a  thousand 
years,  it  seems;  but  we  do  not  know  how  long  he 
has  been  standing  inside  this  rock." 

Dorothy  had  already  taken  the  clock  key  from 
the  peg. 

44 


DOROTHY  WOUND  UP  NUMBER  ONE 


Ozma        of        Oz 

"Which  shall  I  wind  up  first?"  she  asked,  looking 
again  at  the  directions  on  the  card. 

"Number  One,  I  should  think,'*  returned  Billina, 
"That  makes  him  think,  doesn't  it?" 

"Yes,"  said  Dorothy,  and  wound  up  Number 
One,  under  the  left  arm. 

"He  doesn't  seem  any  different,"  remarked  the 
hen,  critically. 

"Why,  of  course  not;  he  is  only  thinking,  now," 
said  Dorothy. 

"I  wonder  what  he  is  thinking  about." 

"I'll  wind  up  his  talk,  and  then  perhaps  he  can 
tell  us,"  said  the  girl. 

So  she  wound  up  Number  Two,  and  immediately 
the  clock-work  man  said,  without  moving  any  part 
of  his  body  except  his  lips: 

"Good  morn-ing,  lit -tie  girl.  Good  morn-ing, 
Mrs.  Hen." 

The  words  sounded  a  little  hoarse  and  creakey, 
and  they  were  uttered  all  in  the  same  tone,  without 
any  change  of  expression  whatever;  but  both  Dor- 
othy and  Billina  understood  them  perfectly. 

"Good  morning,  sir,"  they  answered,  politely. 

"Thank  you  for  res-cu-ing  me,"  continued  the 
machine,   in    the   same  monotonous    voice,    which 


46 


Tiktok,  The  Machine  Man 


seemed  to  be  worked  by  a  bellows  inside  of  him, 
like  the  little  toy  lambs  and  cats  the  children  squeeze 
so  that  they  will  make  a  noise. 

"  Don't  mention  it,"  answered  Dorothy.  And 
then,  being  very  curious,  she  asked;  "How  did  you 
come  to  be  locked  up  in  this  place?" 

"It  is  a  long  sto-ry,"  replied  the  copper  man; 
"but  I  will  tell  it  to  you  brief-ly.  I  was  pur-chased 
from  Smith  &  Tin-ker,  my  man-u-fac-tur-ers,  by  a 
cru-el  King  of  Ev,  named  Ev-ol-do,  who  used  to 


47 


Ozma        of       Oz 

beat  all  his  serv-ants  un-til  they  died.  How-ev-er, 
he  was  not  a-ble  to  kill  me,  be-cause  I  was  not  a- 
live,  and  one  must  first  live  in  or-der  to  die.  So 
that  all  his  beat-ing  did  me  no  harm,  and  mere-ly 
kept  my  cop-per  bod-y  well  pol-ished. 

"This  cru-el  king  had  a  love-ly  wife  and  ten 
beau-ti-ful  chil-dren — five  boys  and  five  girls — but 
in  a  fit  of  an-ger  he  sold  them  all  to  the  Nome  King, 
who  by  means  of  his  mag-ic  arts  changed  them  all 
in-to  oth-er  forms  and  put  them  in  his  un-der-ground 
pal-ace  to  or-na-ment  the  rooms. 

"  Af-ter-ward  the  King  of  Ev  re-gret-ted  his  wick- 
ed ac-tion,  and  tried  to  get  his  wife  and  chil-dren 
a-way  from  the  Nome  King,  but  with-out  a-vail. 
So,  in  de-spair,  he  locked  me  up  in  this  rock,  threw 
the  key  in-to  the  o-cean,  and  then  jumped  in  af-ter 
it  and  was  drowned." 

"How  very  dreadful!"  exclaimed  Dorothy. 

"It  is,  in-deed,'*  said  the  machine.  "When  1 
found  my-self  im-pris-oned  I  shout-ed  for  help  un- 
til my  voice  ran  down ;  and  then  I  walked  back  and 
forth  in  this  lit-tle  room  un-til  my  ac-tion  ran  down; 
and  then  I  stood  still  and  thought  un-til  my  thoughts 
ran  down.  Af-ter  that  I  re-mem-ber  noth-ing  un- 
til you  wound  me  up  a-gain." 

"It's  a  very  wonderful  story,"  said  Dorothy, "and 

48 


THE  COPPER  MAN  WALKED  OUT  OF  THE  ROCKY  CAVERN 


Ozma        of        Oz 

proves  that  the  Land  of  Ev  is  really  a  fairy  land,  as 
I  thought  it  was." 

"Of  course  it  is,"  answered  the  copper  man.  "I 
do  not  sup-pose  such  a  per-fect  ma-chine  as  I  am 
could  be  made  in  an-y  place  but  a  fair-y  land." 

"I've  never  seen  one  in   Kansas,"  said  Dorothy. 

"  But  where  did  you  get  the  key  to  un-Iock  this 
door?"  asked  the  clock-work  voice. 

"  I  found  it  on  the  shore,  where  it  was  prob'ly 
washed  up  by  the  waves,"  she  answered.  "And  now, 
sir,  if  you  don't  mind,  I'll  wind  up  your  action." 

"  That  will  please  me  ve-ry  much,"said  the  machine. 

So  she  wound  up  Number  Three,  and  at  once 
the  copper  man  in  a  somewhat  stiff  and  jerky  fashion 
walked  out  of  the  rocky  cavern,  took  off  his  copper 
hat  and  bowed  politely,  and  then  kneeled  before 
Dorothy.      Said  he: 

"  From  this  time  forth  I  am  your  o-be-di-ent  ser- 
vant. What-ev-er  you  com-mand,  that  I  will  do 
will-ing-ly — if  you  keep  me  wound  up." 

"What  is  your  name?"  she  asked. 

"Tik-tok,"  he  replied.  "My  for-mer  mas-ter 
gave  me  that  name  be-cause  my  clock-work  al-ways 
ticks  when  it  is  wound  up." 

"I  can  hear  it  now,"  said  the  yellow  hen. 

"So  can  I,"  said  Dorothy.     And  then  she  added, 

50 


Tiktok,  The  Machine  Man 


with  some  anxiety:  "You  don't  strike,  do  you?" 

"No,"  answered  Tiktok;  "and  there  is  no  a-larm 
con-nec-ted  with  my  ma-chin-er-y.  I  can  tell  the 
time,  though,  by  speak-ing,  and  as  I  nev-er  sleep  I 
can  wak-en  you  at  an-y  hour  you  wish  to  get  up  in 
the  morn-ing." 

"That's  nice,"  said  the  little  girl;  "only  I  never 
wish  to  get  up  in  the  morning." 

"You  can  sleep  until  I  lay  my  egg,"  said  the  yel- 
low hen.  «  Then,  when  I  cackle,  Tiktok  will  know 
it  is  time  to  waken  you." 

"  Do  you  lay  your  egg  very  early  ? "  asked  Dorothy, 
"About  eight  o'clock,"  said  Billina.     "And  every- 
body ought  to  be  up  by  that  time,  I'm  sure." 


51 


D 


ihu  Opens  the  Dinner 

Pail 


Tiktok,"  said  Dorothy, 
"the  first  thing  to  be  done 
is  to  find  a  way  for  us  to 
escape  from  these  rocks.   The 
Wheelers  are  down  below,  you 
know,  and  threaten  to  kill  us." 

«  There  is  no  rea-son  to  be  a-fraid 
of  the  Wheel-ers,"  said  Tiktok,  the 
words  coming  more  slowly  than  before. 

"Why  not?"  she  asked. 

"  Be-cause  they  are  ag-g-g— gr-gr-r-r-" 

He   gave   a  sort  of  gurgle  and  stopped 
short,  waving  his  hands  frantically  until  sud-^ 
denly  he  became  motionless,  with  one  arm  in 
the  air  and  the  other  held  stiffly  before  him  with 
all  the  copper  fingers  of  the  hand  spread  out  like  a  fan. 

52 


Dorothy  Opens  the  Dinner  Pail 

"Dear  me!"  said  Dorothy,  in  a  frightened  tone. 
"What  can  the  matter  be?" 

"He's  run  down,  I  suppose,"  said  the  hen,  calmly. 
"You  couldn't  have  wound  him  up  very  tight." 

"I  didn't  know  how  much  to  wind  him,"  replied 
the  girl;  "but  I'll  try  to  do  better  next  time." 

She  ran  around  the  copper  man  to  take  the  key 
from  the  peg  at  the  back  of  his  neck,  but  it 
was  not  there. 

"It's  gone!"  cried  Dorothy,  in  dismay. 

"What's  gone?"  asked  Billina. 

"The  key." 

"It  probably  fell  ofF  when  he  made  that  low  bow 
to  you,"  returned  the  hen.  "Look  around,  and  see 
if  you  cannot  find  it  again." 

Dorothy  looked,  and  the  hen  helped  her,  and  by 
and  by  the  girl  discovered  the  clock-key,  which  had 
fallen  into  a  crack  of  the  rock. 

At  once  she  wound  up  Tiktok's  voice,  taking 
care  to  give  the  key  as  many  turns  as  it  would  go 
around.  She  found  this  quite  a  task,  as  you  may 
imagine  if  you  have  ever  tried  to  wind  a  clock,  but 
the  machine  man's  first  words  were  to  assure  Dorothy 
that  he  would  now  run  for  at  least  twenty-four  hours. 

"You  did  not  wind  me  much,  at  first,"  he  calmly 
said,  "and  I  told  you  that  long  sto-ry  a-bout  King 

53 


O    z    m    a        of        O 


Ev-ol-do;  so  it  is  no  won-der  that  I  ran  down." 

She  next  rewound  the  action  cloct-work,  and 
then  Billina  advised  her  to  carry  the  key  to  Tiktok 
in  her  pocket,  so  it  would  not  get  lost  again. 

"And  now/'  said  Dorothy,  when  all  this  was  ac- 
complished, "tell  me  what  you  were  going  to  say 
about  the  Wheelers." 

"Why,  they  are  noth-ing  to  be  fright-en'd  at," 
said  the  machine.  "  They  try  to  make  folks  bc-lieve 
that  they  are  ver-y  ter-ri-ble,  but  as  a  mat-ter  of 

54 


Dorothy  Opens  the  Dinner  Pail 

fact  the  Wheel-ers  are  harm-less  e-nough  to  an-y  one 
that  dares  to  fight  them.  They  might  try  to  hurt  a 
lit-tle  girl  like  you,  per-haps,  be-cause  they  are  ver-y 
mis-chiev-ous.  But  if  I  had  a  club  they  would  run 
a-way  as  soon  as  they  saw  me." 

"  Haven't  you  a  club  ? "  asked  Dorothy. 

«No,"  said  Tiktok. 

"And  you  won't  find  such  a  thing  among  these 
rocks,  either,"  declared  the  yellow  hen. 

"Then  what  shall  we  do?*'  asked  the  girl. 

"Wind  up  my  think-works  tight-ly,  and  I  will 
try  to  think  of  some  oth-er  plan,"  said  Tiktok. 

So  Dorothy  rewound  his  thought  machinery,  and 
while  he  was  thinking  she  decided  to  eat  her  dinner. 
Billina  was  already  pecking  away  at  the  cracks  in 
the  rocks,  to  find  something  to  eat,  so  Dorothy  sat 
down  and  opened  her  tin  dinner-pail. 

In  the  cover  she  found  a  small  tank  that  was  full 
of  very  nice  lemonade.  It  was  covered  by  a  cup, 
which  might  also,  when  removed,  be  used  to  drink 
the  lemonade  from.  Within  the  pail  were  three 
slices  of  turkey,  two  slices  of  cold  tongue,  some 
lobster  salad,  four  slices  of  bread  and  butter,  a  small 
custard  pie,  an  orange  and  nine  large  strawberries, 
and  some  nuts  and  raisins.  Singularly  enough,  the 
nuts  in  this  dinner-pail  grew  already  cracked,  so  that 

55 


Ozma        of        Oz 

Dorothy  had  no  trouble  in  picking  out  their  meats 
to  eat. 

She  spread  the  feast  upon  the  rock  beside  her  and 
began  her  dinner,  first  offering  some  of  it  to  Tiktok, 
who  declined  because,  as  he  said,  he  was  merely  a 
machine.  Afterward  she  offered  to  share  with  Bil- 
lina,  but  the  hen  murmured  something  about  "dead 
things"  and  said  she  preferred  her  bugs  and  ants. 

"Do  the  lunch-box  trees  and  the  dinner-pail  trees 
belong  to  the  Wheelers?"  the  child  asked  Tiktok, 
while  engaged  in  eating  her  meal. 

"  Of  course  not,"  he  answered.  "  They  be-long  to 
the  roy-al  fam-il-y  of  Ev,  on-ly  of  course  there  is  no 
roy-al  fam-il-y  just  now  be-cause  King  Ev-ol-do 
jumped  in-to  the  sea  and  his  wife  and  ten  chil-dren 
have  been  trans-formed  by  the  Nome  King.  So  there 
is  no  one  to  rule  the  Landof  Ev,that  I  can  think  of. 
Per-haps  it  is  for  this  rea-son  that  the  Wheel-ers 
claim  the  tre^s  for  their  own,  and  pick  the  lunch- 
eons and  din-ners  to  eat  them-selves.  But  they  be- 
long to  the  King,  and  you  will  find  the  roy-al  "E" 
stamped  up-on  the  bot-tom  of  ev-er-y  din-ner  pail." 

Dorothy  turned  the  pail  over,  and  at  once  dis- 
covered the  royal  mark  upon  it,  as  Tiktok  had  said. 

"Are  the  Wheelers  the  only  folks  living  in  the 
Land  of  Ev?"  enquired  the  girl. 

56 


DOROTHY  OPENED  HER  TIN  DINNER-PAIL 


Ozma        of        Oz 

"No;  they  on-ly  in-hab-it  a  small  por-tion  of  it 
just  back  of  the  woods,"  replied  the  machine.  "But 
they  have  al-ways  been  mis-chiev-ous  and  im-per- 
ti-nent,  and  my  old  mas-ter,  King  Ev-ol-do,  used 
to  car-ry  a  whip  with  him,  when  he  walked  out,  to 
keep  the  crea-tures  in  or-der.  When  I  was  first 
made  the  Wheel-ers  tried  to  run  o-ver  me,  and  butt 
me  with  their  heads;  but  they  soon  found  I  was 
built  of  too  sol-id  a  ma-ter-i-al  for  them  to  in-jure." 

"You  seem  very  durable,"  said  Dorothy.  "Who 
made  you?" 

"The  firm  of  Smith  &Tin-ker,  in  the  town  ofEv- 
na,  where  the  roy-al  pal-ace  stands,"  answered  Tiktok. 

"Did  they  make  many  of  you?"  asked  the  child. 

"No;  I  am  the  on-ly  au-to-mat-ic  me-chan4-cal 
man  they  ev-er  com-plet-ed,"  he  replied.  "They 
were  ver-y  won-der-ful  in-ven-tors,  were  my  mak-ers, 
and  quite  ar-tis-tic  in  all  they  did." 

"I  am  sure  of  that,"  said  Dorothy.  "Do  they 
live  in  the  town  of  Evna  now?" 

"They  are  both  gone,"  replied  the  machine. 
"Mr.  Smith  was  an  art-ist,  as  well  as  an  in-vent-or, 
and  he  paint-ed  a  pic-ture  of  a  riv-er  which  was  so 
nat-ur-al  that,  as  he  was  reach-ing  a-cross  it  to  paint 
some  flow-ers  on  the  op-po-site  bank,  he  fell  in-to 
the  wa-ter  and  was  drowned." 

58 


Dorothy  Opens  the  Dinner  Pail 

«Oh,  Tm  sorry  for  thati  *'  exclaimed  the  little  girl. 

"Mis-ter  Tin-ker,"  continued  Tiktok,  "made  a 
lad-der  so  tall  that  he  could  rest  the  end  of  it  a- 
gainst  the  moon,  while  he  stood  on  the  high-est  rung 
and  picked  the  lit-tle  stars  to  set  in  the  points  of 
the  king's  crown.  But  when  he  got  to  the  moon 
Mis-ter  Tm-ker  found  it  such  a  love-ly  place  that  he 
de-cid-ed  to  live  there,  so  he  pulled  up  the  lad-der 
af-ter  him  and  We  have  nev-er  seen  him  since." 

"He  must  have  been  a  great  loss  to  this  country," 
said  Dorothy,  who  was  bv  this  time  eating  her 
custard  pie. 

"He  was,"  acknowledged  Tiktok.  "Also  he  is  a 
great  loss  to  me.  For  if  I  should  get  out  of  or-der 
I  do  not  know  of  an-y  one  a-ble  to  re-pair  me,  be- 
cause I  am  so  com-pli-cat-ed.  You  have  no  i-de-a 
how  full  of  ma-chin-er-y  I  am." 

"I  can  imagine  it,"  said  Dorothy,  readily. 

"And  now,"  continued  the  machine,  "I  must  stop 
talk-ing  and  be-gin  think-ing  a-gain  of  a  way  to  es- 
cape from  this  rock."  So  he  turned  halfway  around, 
in  order  to  think  without  being  disturbed. 

"  The  best  thinker  I  ever  knew,"  said  Dorothy  to 
the  yellow  hen,  "was  a  scarecrow." 

"Nonsense!"  snapped  Billina. 

"It  is  true,"  declared  Dorothy.      "I  met  him  in 

59 


Ozma        of        Oz 

the  Land  of  Oz,  and  he  travelled  with  me  to  the 
city  of  the  great  Wizard  of  Oz,  so  as  to  get  some 
brains,  for  his  head  was  only  stufFed  with  straw. 
But  it  seemed  to  me  that  he  thought  just  as  well 
before  he  got  his  brains  as  he  did  afterward." 

"Do  you  expect  me  to  believe  all  that  rubbish 
about  the  Land  of  Oz?  "enquired  Billina,  who  seemed 
a  little  cross — perhaps  because  bugs  were  scarce. 

"What  rubbish?"  asked  the  child,  who  was  now 
finishing  her  nuts  and  raisins. 

"Why,  your  impossible  stories  about  animals  that 
can  talk,  and  a  tin  woodman  who  is  alive,  and  a 
scarecrow  who  can  think." 

"They  are  all  there,"  said  Dorothy,  "for  I  have 
seen  them." 

"I  don't  believe  it!"  cried  the  hen,  with  a  toss 
of  her  head. 

"That's  'cause  you're  so  ign'rant,"  replid  the  girl, 
who  was  a  little  offended  at  her  friend  Billina's  speech. 

"In  the  Land  of  Oz,"  remarked  Tiktok,  turning 
toward  them,  "an-y-thing  is  pos-si-ble.  For  it  is  a 
won-der-ful  fair-y  coun-try." 

"There,  Billina!  what  did  I  say?"  cried  Dorothy. 
And  then  she  turned  to  the  machine  and  asked  in 
an  eager  tone:  "Do  you  know  the  Land  of  Oz, 
Tiktok?" 

60 


MISTER  TINKER  VISITS  THE  MOON 


Ozma        of        Oz 

"No;  but  I  have  heard  a-bout  it/'  said  the  cop- 
per man.  "For  it  is  on-ly  sep-a-ra-ted  from  this 
Land  of  Ev  by  a  broad  des-ert.'* 

Dorothy  clapped  her  hands  together  delightedly. 

"I'm  glad  of  that!"  she  exclaimed.  "It  makes 
me  quite  happy  to  be  so  near  my  old  friends.  The 
scarecrow  I  told  you  of,  Billina,  is  the  King  of  the 
Land  of  Oz." 

"Par-don  me.  He  is  not  the  king  now,"  said 
Tiktok. 

"He  was   when   I  left  there,*'  declared  Dorothy. 

"I  know,"  said  Tiktok,  "but  there  was  a  rev-o- 
lu-tion  in  the  Land  of  Oz,  and  the  Scare-crow  was 
de-posed  by  a  sol-dier  wo-man  named  Gen-er-al 
Jin-jur.  And  then  Jin-jur  was  de-posed  by  a  lit-tle 
girl  named  Oz-ma,  who  was  the  right-ful  heir  to  the 
throne  and  now  rules  the  land  un-der  the  ti-tle  of 
Oz-ma  of  Oz." 

"  That  is  news  to  me,"  said  Dorothy,  thoughtfully. 
"But  I  s'pose  lots  of  things  have  happened  since  I 
left  the  Land  of  Oz.  I  wonder  what  has  become  of 
the  Scarecrow,  and  of  the  Tin  Woodman,  and  the 
Cowardly  Lion.  And  I  wonder  who  this  girl  Ozma 
is,  for  I  never  heard  of  her  before." 

But  Tiktok  did  not  reply  to  this.  He  had  turned 
around  again  to  resume  his  thinking. 

62 


Dorothy  Opens  the  Dinner  Pail 

Dorothy  packed  the  rest  of  the  food  back  into 
the  pail,  so  as  not  to  be  wasteful  of  good  things,  and 
the  yellow  hen  forgot  her  dignity  far  enough  to  pick 
up  all  of  the  scattered  crumbs,  which  she  ate  rather 
greedily,  although  she  had  so  lately  pretended  to 
despise  the  things  that  Dorothy  preferred  as  food. 

By  this  time  Tiktok  approached  them  with  his 
stiff  bow. 

"Be  kind  e-nough  to  fol-low  me,"  he  said,  "and 
I  will  lead  you  a-way  from  here  to  the  town  of  Ev- 
na,  where  you  will  be  more  com-for-ta-ble,  and  al- 
so I  will  pro-tect  you  from  the  Wheel-ers." 

"All  right,"  answered  Dorothy,  promptly.  "I'm 
ready!" 


63 


Tie  Heads  Q 


walked  slowly  down  the 
path  between   the  rocks, 
Tiktok  going  first,  Dorothy 
following  him,  and  the  yellow 
hen  trotting  along  last  of  all. 

At  the  foot  of  the    path  the 
copper     man     leaned    down    and 
tossed  aside  with  ease  the  rocks  that 
cumbered  the  way.      Then  he  turned 
to  Dorothy  and  said: 

"Let  me  car-ry  your  din-ner-pail." 

She  placed  it  in  his  right  hand  at  once,     '<~'*^-' 
and  the  copper  fingers  closed  firmly  over  the 
stout  handle. 

Then  the  little  procession  marched  out  upon 
the  level  sands. 


'>, 


r " 


64 


The  Heads  of  Langwidere 

As  soon  as  the  three  Wheelers  who  were  guard- 
ing the  mound  saw  them,  they  began  to  shout  their 
wild  cries  and  rolled  swiftly  toward  the  little  group, 
as  if  to  capture  them  or  bar  their  way.  But  when 
the  foremost  had  approached  near  enough,  Tiktok 
swung  the  tin  dinner-pail  and  struck  the  Wheeler 
a  sharp  blow  over  its  head  with  the  queer  weapon. 
Perhaps  it  did  not  hurt  very  much,  but  it  made  a 
great  noise,  and  the  Wheeler  uttered  a  howl  and 
tumbled  over  upon  its  side.  The  next  minute  it 
scrambled  to  its  wheels  and  rolled  away  as  fast  as  it 
could  go,  screeching  with  fear  at  the  same  time. 

"I  told  you  they  were  harm-less,"  began  Tiktok; 
but  before  he  could  say  more  another  Wheeler  was 
upon  them.  Crack!  went  the  dinner-pail  against 
its  head,  knocking  its  straw  hat  a  dozen  feet  away; 
and  that  was  enough  for  this  Wheeler,  also.  It 
rolled  away  after  the  first  one,  and  the  third  did  not 
wait  to  be  pounded  with  the  pail,  but  joined  its 
fellows  as  quickly  as  its  wheels  would  whirl. 

The  yellow  hen  gave  a  cackle  of  delight,  and  fly- 
ing to  a  perch  upon  Tiktok's  shoulder,  she  said: 

"Bravely  done,  my  copper  friend!  and  wisely 
thought  of,  too.  Now  we  are  free  from  those  ugly 
creatures." 

But  just   then   a  large  band  of  Wheelers  rolled 

65 


Ozma        of        Oz 

from  the  forest,  and  relying  upon  their  numbers 
to  conquer,  they  advanced  fiercely  upon  Tiktok. 
Dorothy  grabbed  Billina  in  her  arms  and  held  her 
tight,  and  the  machine  embraced  the  form  of  the 
little  girl  with  his  left  arm,  the  better  to  protect  her. 
Then  the  Wheelers  were  upon  them. 

Rattlety,  bang!  bang!  went  the  dinner-pail  in 
every  direction,  and  it  made  so  much  clatter  bump- 
ing against  the  heads  of  the  Wheelers  that  they  were 
much  more  frightened  than  hurt  and  fled  in  a  great 
panic.  All,  that  is,  except  their  leader.  This  Wheeler 
had  stumbled  against  another  and  fallen  flat  upon 
his  back,  and  before  he  could  get  his  wheels  under 
him  to  rise  again,  Tiktok  had  fastened  his  copper 
fingers  into  the  neck  of  the  gorgeous  jacket  of  his 
foe  and  held  him  fast. 

"Tell  your  peo-ple  to  go  a-way,"  commanded 
the  machine. 

The  leader  of  the  Wheelers  hesitated  to  give  this 
order,  so  Tiktok  shook  him  as  a  terrier  dog  does  a 
rat,  until  the  Wheeler's  teeth  rattled  together  with 
a  noise  like  hailstones  on  a  window  pane.  Then, 
as  soon  as  the  creature  could  get  its  breath,  it  shouted 
to  the  others  to  roll  away,  which  they  immediately  did. 

"Now,'*  said  Tiktok,  "you  shall  come  with  us  and 
tell  me  what  I  want  to  know." 

66 


The  Heads  of  Langwidere 


"You'll  be  sorry  for  treating  me  in  this  way," 
whined  the  Wheeler.    "  Fm  a  terribly  fierce  person.** 

"As  for  that,"  answered  Tiktok,  "I  am  only  a 
ma-chine,  and  can-not  feel  sor-row  or  joy,  no  mat-ter 
what  hap-pens.  But  you  are  wrong  to  think  your- 
self ter-ri-ble  or  fierce." 

"Why  so?"  asked  the  Wheeler. 

"Be-cause  no  one  else  thinks  as  you  do.  Your 
wheels  make  you  help-less  to  in-jure  an-y  one.  For 
you  have  no  fists  and  can  not  scratch  or  e-ven  pull 

67 


Ozma        of        Oz 

hair.  Nor  have  you  an-y  feet  to  kick  with.  All  you 
can  do  is  to  yell  and  shout,  and  that  does  not  hurt 
an-y  one  at  all." 

The  Wheeler  burst  into  a  flood  of  tears,  to  Dor- 
othy's great  surprise. 

"  Now  I  and  my  people  are  ruined  forever !  *'  he 
sobbed;  "for  you  have  discovered  our  secret.  Being 
so  helpless,  our  only  hope  is  to  make  people  afraid 
of  us,  by  pretending  we  are  very  fierce  and  terrible, 
and  writing  in  the  sand  warnings  to  Beware  the 
Wheelers.  Until  now  we  have  frightened  everyone, 
but  since  you  have  discovered  our  weakness  our 
enemies  will  fall  upon  us  and  make  us  very  miserable 
and  unhappy." 

"Oh,  no,"  exclaimed  Dorothy,  who  was  sorry  to 
see  this  beautifully  dressed  Wheeler  so  miserable; 
"Tiktok  will  keep  your  secret,  and  so  will  Billina 
and  I.  Only,  you  must  promise  not  to  try  to  frighten 
children  any  more,  if  they  come  near  to  you." 

"I  won't — indeed  I  won't! "  promised  the  Wheel- 
er, ceasing  to  cry  and  becoming  more  cheerful. 
"I'm  not  really  bad,  you  know;  but  we  have  to 
pretend  to  be  terrible  in  order  to  prevent  others 
from  attacking  us." 

"That  is  not  ex-act-ly  true,"  said  Tiktok,  starting 
to  walk  toward    the  path   through    the  forest,  and 

68 


ON  THE  WAY  TO  THE  ROYAL  PALACE  OF  EV 


Ozma        of        Oz 

still  holding  fast  to  his  prisoner,  who  rolled  slowly 
along  beside  him.  "You  and  your  peo-ple  are  full 
of  mis-chief,  and  like  to  both-er  those  who  fear  you. 
And  you  are  of-ten  im-pu-dent  and  dis-a-gree-a-ble, 
too.  But  if  you  will  try  to  cure  those  faults  I  will 
not  tell  any-one  how  help-less  you  are.'* 

"Fll  try,  of  course,'*  replied  the  Wheeler,  eagerly. 
"And  thank  you,  Mr.  Tiktok,  for  your  kindness." 

"I  am  on-ly  a  ma-chine,"  said  Tiktok.  "I  can 
not  be  kind  an-y  more  than  I  can  be  sor-ry  or  glad. 
I  can  on-ly  do  what  I  am  wound  up  to  do." 

"Are  you  wound  up  to  keep  my  secret?"  asked 
the  Wheeler,  anxiously. 

"Yes;  if  you  be-have  your-self.  But  tell  me: 
who  rules  the  Land  of  Ev  now?"  asked  the  machine. 

"There  is  no  ruler,"  was  the  answer,  "because 
every  member  of  the  royal  family  is  imprisoned  by 
the  Nome  King.  But  the  Princess  Langwidere, 
who  is  a  niece  of  our  late  King  Evoldo,  lives  in  a 
part  of  the  royal  palace  and  takes  as  much  money 
out  of  the  royal  treasury  as  she  can  spend.  The 
Princess  Langwidere  is  not  exactly  a  ruler,  you  see, 
because  she  doesn't  rule;  but  she  is  the  nearest 
approach  to  a  ruler  we  have  at  present." 

"I  do  not  re-mem-ber  her,"  said  Tiktok.  "What 
does  she  look  like?" 

70 


The  Heads  of  Langwidere 

"That  I  cannot  say,"  replied  the  Wheeler,  "al- 
though I  have  seen  her  twenty  times.  For  the  Prin- 
cess Langwidere  is  a  different  person  every  time  I 
see  her,  and  the  only  way  her  subjects  can  recognize 
her  at  all  is  by  means  of  a  beautiful  ruby  key  which 
she  always  wears  on  a  chain  attached  to  her  left 
wrist.  When  we  see  the  key  we  know  we  are  be- 
holding the  Princess.'' 

"That  is  strange,"  said  Dorothy,  in  astonishment. 
"Do  you  mean  to  say  that  so  many  different  prin- 
cesses are  one  and  the  same  person?" 

"Not  exactly,"  answered  the  Wheeler.  "There 
is,  of  course,  but  one  princess;  but  she  appears  to  us 
in  many  forms,  which  are  all  more  or  less  beautiful." 

"She  must  be  a  witch,"  exclaimed  the  girl. 

"I  do  not  think  so,"  declared  the  Wheeler.  "But 
there  is  some  mystery  connected  with  her,  neverthe- 
less. She  is  a  very  vain  creature,  and  lives  mostly 
in  a  room  surrounded  by  mirrors,  so  that  she  can 
admire  herself  whichever  way  she  looks." 

No  one  answered  this  speech,  because  they  had 
just  passed  out  of  the  forest  and  their  attention  was 
fixed  upon  the  scene  before  them — a  beautiful  vale 
in  which  were  many  fruit  trees  and  green  fields, 
with  pretty  farm-houses  scattered  here  and  there 
and  broad,  smooth  roads  that  led  in  every  direction. 

71 


o 


m 


o 


f    o 


In  the  center  of  this  lovely  vale,  about  a  mile 
from  where  our  friends  were  standing,  rose  the  tall 
spires  of  the  royal  palace,  which  glittered  brightly 
against  their  background  of  blue  sky.  The  palace 
was  surrounded  by  charming  grounds,  full  of  flowers 
and  shrubbery.  Several  tinkling  fountains  could  be 
seen,  and  there  were  pleasant  walks  bordered  by 
rows  of  white  marble  statuary. 

All  these  details  Dorothy  was,  of  course,  unable 
to  notice  or  admire  until  they  had  advanced  along 
the  road  to  a  position  quite  near  to  the  palace,  and 
she  was  still  looking  at  the  pretty  sights  when  her 
little  party  entered  the  grounds  and  approached  the 
big  front  door  of  the  king's  own  apartments.  To 
their  disappointment  they  found  the  door  tightly 
closed.  A  sign  was  tacked  to  the  panel  which  read 
as  follows: 


OWTSTER  c^BSENT. 


Please  Knock  at  the  Third  Door  in  the  Left  W^ing. 


"Now,"  said  Tiktok  to  the  captive  Wheeler,  "you 
must  show  us  the  way  to  the  Left  Wing," 

72 


A  SIGN  WAS  TACKED  TO  THE  PANEL 


Ozma        of        Oz 

"Very  well/'  agreed  the  prisoner,  "it  is  around 
here  at  the  right." 

"How  can  the  left  wing  be  at  the  right?"  de- 
manded Dorothy,  who  feared  the  Wheeler  was 
fooling  them. 

"Because  there  used  to  be  three  wings,  and  two 
were  torn  down,  so  the  one  on  the  right  is  the  only 
one  left.  It  is  a  trick  of  the  Princess  Langwidere 
to  prevent  visitors  from  annoying  her." 

Then  the  captive  led  them  around  to  the  wing, 
after  which  the  machine  man,  having  no  further  use 
for  the  Wheeler,  permitted  him  to  depart  and  rejoin 
his  fellows.  He  immediately  rolled  away  at  a  great 
pace  and  was  soon  lost  to  sight. 

Tiktok  now  counted  the  doors  in  the  wing  and 
knocked  loudly  upon  the  third  one. 

It  was  opened  by  a  little  maid  in  a  cap  trimmed 
with  gay  ribbons,  who  bowed  respectfully  and  asked: 

"What  do  you  wish,  good  people?" 

"Are  you  the  Princess  Langwidere?"  asked 
Dorothy. 

"No,  miss;   I  am  her  servant,"  replied  the  maid. 

"May  I  see  the  Princess,  please?" 

"I  will  tell  her  you  are  here,  miss,  and  ask  her  to 
grant  you  an  audience,"  said  the  maid.  "Step  in, 
please,  and  take  a  seat  in  the  drawing-room." 

74 


The  Heads  of  Langwidere 


So  Dorothy  walked  in,  followed  closely  by  the 
machine.  But  as  the  yellow  hen  tried  to  enter  after 
them,  the  little  maid  cried  "Shoo!"  and  flapped  her 
apron  in  Billina's  face. 

"Shoo,  yourself!"  retorted  the  hen, drawing  back 
in  anger  and  rufiling  up  her  feathers.  "Haven^t 
you  any  better  manners  than  that?" 

«Oh,  do  you  talk?"  enquired  the  maid,  evident- 
ly surprised. 

"Can't  you  hear  me?"  snapped  Billina.      "Drop 

75 


Ozma        of        Oz 

that  apron,  and  get  out  of  the  doorway,  so  that  I 
may  enter  with  my  friends!'* 

"The  Princess  won't  like  it,"  said  the  maid,  hesi- 
tating. 

"I  don't  care  whether  she  likes  it  or  not,"  replied 
Billina,  and  fluttering  her  wings  with  a  loud  noise 
she  flew  straight  at  the  maid's  face.  The  little  ser- 
vant at  once  ducked  her  head,  and  the  hen  reached 
Dorothy's  side  in  safety. 

"Very  well,"  sighed  the  maid;  "if  you  are  all 
ruined  because  of  this  obstinate  hen,  don't  blame 
me  for  it.  It  isn't  safe  to  annoy  the  Princess  Lang- 
widere." 

"  Tell  her  we  are  waiting,  if  you  please,"  Dorothy 
requested,  with  dignity.  "  Billina  is  my  friend,  and 
must  go  wherever  I  go." 

Without  more  words  the  maid  led  them  to  a  richly 
furnished  drawing-room,  lighted  with  subdued  rain- 
bow tints  that  came  in  through  beautiful  stained- 
glass  windows. 

"Remain  here,"  she  said.  "What  names  shall  I 
give  the  Princess?" 

"I  am  Dorothy  Gale,  of  Kansas,"  replied  the  child; 
"and  this  gentleman  is  a  machine  named  Tiktok, 
and  the  yellow  hen  is  my  friend  Billina." 

The   little   servant  bowed  and   withdrew,   going 

76 


THE  PRINCESS  WONT  LIKE  IT."  SAID  THE  MAID 


Ozma        of        Oz 

through  sev^eral  passages  and  mounting  two  marble 
stairways  before  she  came  to  the  apartments  occupied 
by  her  mistress. 

Princess  Langwidere's  sitting-room  was  panelled 
with  great  mirrors,  which  reached  from  the  ceiling 
to  the  floor;  also  the  ceiling  was  composed  of  mir- 
rors, and  the  floor  was  of  polished  silver  that  reflected 
every  object  upon  it.  So  when  Langwidere  sat  in 
her  easy  chair  and  played  soft  melodies  upon  her 
mandolin,  her  form  was  mirrored  hundreds  of  times, 
in  walls  and  ceiling  and  floor,  and  whichever  way 
the  lady  turned  her  head  she  could  see  and  admire 
her  own  features.  This  she  loved  to  do,  and  just 
as  the  maid  entered  she  was  saying  to  herself: 

"This  head  with  the  auburn  hair  and  hazel  eyes 
is  quite  attractive.  I  must  wear  it  more  often  than 
I  have  done  of  late,  although  it  may  not  be  the  best 
of  my  collection." 

"You  have  company,  Your  Highness,"  announced 
the  maid,  bowing  low. 

"Who  is  it?"  asked  Langwidere,  yawning. 

"Dorothy  Gale  of  Kansas,  Mr.Tiktok  and  Billina," 
answered  the  maid. 

"What  a  queer  lot  of  names!"  murmured  the 
Princess,  beginning  to  be  a  little  interested.  "What 
are  they  like?      Is  Dorothy  Gale  of  Kansas  pretty? 

78 


The  Heads  of  Langwidere 

"She  might  be  called  so/*  the  maid  replied. 

"And  is  Mr.  Tiktok  attractive?**  continued  the 
Princess. 

"That  I  cannot  say,  Your  Highness.  But  he  seems 
very  bright.   Will  Your  Gracious  Highness  see  them?" 

"Oh,  I  may  as  well,  Nanda.  But  I  am  tired  ad- 
miring this  head,  and  if  my  visitor  has  any  claim  to 
beauty  I  must  take  care  that  she  does  not  surpass 
me.  So  I  w^ill  go  to  my  cabinet  and  change  to  No. 
17,  which  I  think  is  my  best  appearance.  Don*t 
your 

"  Your  No.  1 7  is  exceedingly  beautiful,**  answered 
Nanda,  with  another  bow. 

Again  the  Princess  yawned.      Then  she  said: 

"Help  me  to  rise.** 

So  the  maid  assisted  her  to  gain  her  feet,  although 
Langwidere  was  the  stronger  of  the  twoj  and  then 
the  Princess  slowly  walked  across  the  silver  floor  to 
her  cabinet,  leaning  heavily  at  every  step  upon 
Nanda's  arm. 

Now  I  must  explain  to  you  that  the  Princess 
Langwidere  had  thirty  heads — as  many  as  there  are 
days  in  the  month.  But  of  course  she  could  only 
wear  one  of  them  at  a  time,  because  she  had  but 
one  neck.  These  heads  were  kept  in  what  she  called 
her  "cabinet,**  which  was  a  beautiful  dressing-room 

79 


Ozma       of       Oz 

that  lay  just  between  Langwidere*s  sleeping-chamber 
and  the  mirrored  sitting-room.  Each  head  was  in 
a  separate  cupboard  lined  with  velvet.  The  cup- 
boards ran  all  around  the  sides  of  the  dressing-room, 
and  had  elaborately  carved  doors  with  gold  numbers 
on  the  outside  and  jewelled-framed  mirrors  on  the 
inside  of  them. 

When  the  Princess  got  out  of  her  crystal  bed  in 
the  morning  she  went  to  her  cabinet,  opened  one 
of  the  velvet-lined  cupboards,  and  took  the  head  it 
contained  from  its  golden  shelf.  Then,  by  the  aid 
of  the  mirror  inside  the  open  door,  she  put  on  the 
head — as  neat  and  straight  as  could  be — and  after- 
ward called  her  maids  to  robe  her  for  the  day.  She 
always  wore  a  simple  white  costume,  that  suited  all 
the  heads.  For,  being  able  to  change  her  face 
whenever  she  liked,  the  Princess  had  no  interest  in 
wearing  a  variety  of  gowns,  as  have  other  ladies  who 
are  compelled  to  wear  the  same  face  constantly. 

Of  course  the  thirty  heads  were  in  great  variety, 
no  two  formed  alike  but  all  being  of  exceeding 
loveliness.  There  were  heads  with  golden  hair, 
brown  hair,  rich  auburn  hair  and  black  hair;  but 
none  with  gray  hair.  The  heads  had  eyes  of  blue, 
of  gray,  of  hazel,  of  brown  and  of  black;  but  there 
were  no  red  eyes  among  them,  and  all  were  bright 

80 


BY  THE  AID  OF  THE  MIRROR  SHE  PUT  ON  THE  HEAD 


Ozma        of        Oz 

and  handsome.  The  noses  were  Grecian,  Roman, 
retrousse  and  Oriental,  representing  all  types  of 
beauty;  and  the  mouths  were  of  assorted  sizes  and 
shapes,  displaying  pearly  teeth  when  the  heads  smiled. 
As  for  dimples,  they  appeared  in  cheeks  and  chins, 
wherever  they  might  be  most  charming,  and  one  or 
two  heads  had  freckles  upon  the  faces  to  contrast 
the  better  with  the  brilliancy  of  their  complexions. 

One  key  unlocked  all  the  velvet  cupboards  con- 
taining these  treasures  —  a  curious  key  carved  from 
a  single  blood-red  ruby  —  and  this  was  fastened  to  a 
strong  but  slender  chain  which  the  Princess  wore 
around  her  left  wrist. 

When  Nanda  had  supported  Langwidere  to  a 
position  in  front  of  cupboard  No.  17,  the  Princess 
unlocked  the  door  with  her  ruby  key  and  after 
handing  head  No.  9,  which  she  had  been  wearing, 
to  the  maid,  she  took  No.  1 7  from  its  shelf  and 
fitted  it  to  her  neck.  It  had  black  hair  and  dark 
eyes  and  a  lovely  pearl-and-white  complexion,  and 
when  Langwidere  wore  it  she  knew  she  was  remark- 
ably beautiful  in  appearance. 

There  was  only  one  trouble  with  No.  17;  the 
temper  that  went  with  it  (and  which  was  hidden 
somewhere  under  the  glossy  black  hair)  was  fiery, 
harsh  and  haughty  in  the  extreme,  and  it  often  led 

82 


The  Heads  of  Langwidere 

the  Princess  to  do  unpleasant  things  which  she  re- 
gretted when  she  came  to  wear  her  other  heads. 

But  she  did  not  remember  this  today,  and  went 
to  meet  her  guests  in  the  drawing-room  with  a  feel- 
ing of  certainty  that  she  would  surprise  them  with 
her  beauty. 

However,  she  was  greatly  disappointed  to  find 
that  her  visitors  were  merely  a  small  girl  in  a  ging- 
ham dress,  a  copper  man  that  would  only  go  when 
wound  up,  and  a  yellow  hen  that  was  sitting  con- 
tentedly in  Langwidere's  best  work-basket,  where 
there  was  a  china  egg  used  for  darning  stockings.* 

«OhI"  said  Langwidere,  slightly  lifting  the  nose 
of  No.  17.  «I  thought  some  one  of  importance 
had  called." 

"Then  you  were  right,"  declared  Dorothy.  "Fm 
a  good  deal  of  'portance  myself,  and  when  Billina 
lays  an  egg  she  has  the  proudest  cackle  you  ever 
heard.      As  for  Tiktok,  he's  the ** 

"Stop — Stop! "  commanded  the  Princess,  with  an 
angry  flash  of  her  splendid  eyes.  "How  dare  you 
annoy  me  with  your  senseless  chatter?" 


*  It  may  surprise  you  to  learn  that  a  princess  ever  does  such  a  common  thing  as  dam 
stockings.  But,  if  you  will  stop  to  think,  you  will  realize  that  a  princess  is  sure  to  wear  holes 
in  her  stockings,  the  same  as  other  people;  only  it  isn't  considered  quite  polite  to  mention 
the  matter. 

83 


Ozma        of        Oz 

"Why,  you  horrid  thing !  "  said  Dorothy,  who  was 
not  accustomed  to  being  treated  so  rudely. 

The  Princess  looked  at  her  more  closely. 

"Tell  me,"  she  resumed,  "are  you  of  royal  blood?" 

"Better  than  that,  ma'am,"  said  Dorothy.  "I 
came  from  Kansas." 

"Huh!"  cried  the  Princess,  scornfully.  "You  are 
a  foolish  child,  and  I  cannot  allow  you  to  annoy 
me.  Run  away,  you  little  goose,  and  bother  some 
one  else." 

Dorothy  was  so  indignant  that  for  a  moment  she 
could  find  no  words  to  reply.  But  she  rose  from 
her  chair,  and  was  about  to  leave  the  room  when 
the  Princess,  who  had  been  scanning  the  girl's  face, 
stopped  her  by  saying,  more  gently: 

"Come  nearer  to  me." 

Dorothy  obeyed,  without  a  thought  of  fear,  and 
stood  before  the  Princess  while  Langwidere  examined 
her  face  with  careful  attention. 

"  You  are  rather  attractive,"  said  the  lady,  presently. 
"Not  at  all  beautiful,  you  understand,  but  you 
have  a  certain  style  of  prettiness  that  is  diiFerent 
from  that  of  any  of  my  thirty  heads.  So  I  believe 
rll  take  your  head  and  give  you  No.  26  for  it." 

"Well,  I  b'lieve  you  won't!"  exclaimed  Dorothy. 

"It  will  do  you  no  good  to  refuse,"  continued  the 

84 


WELL  1  B'LIEVE  YOU  WONTl"  EXCLAIMED  DOROTHY 


Ozma       of       Oz 

Princess;  "for  I  need  your  head  for  my  collection, 
and  in  the  Land  of  Ev  my  will  is  law.  I  never  have 
cared  much  for  No.  26,  and  you  will  find  that  it  is 
very  little  worn.  Besides,  it  will  do  you  just  as  well 
as  the  one  you're  wearing,  for  all  practical  purposes." 

"I  don't  know  anything  about  your  No.  26,  and 
I  don't  want  to,"  said  Dorothy,  firmly.  *<rm  not 
used  to  taking  cast-off  things,  so  Til  just  keep  my 
own  head." 

"You  refuse?"   cried  the  Princess,  with  a  frown. 

"Of  course  I  do,"  was  the  reply. 

"Then,"  said  Langwidere,  "I  shall  lock  you  up 
in  a  tower  until  you  decide  to  obey  me.  Nanda," 
turning  to  her  maid,  "call  my  army." 

Nanda  rang  a  silver  bell,  and  at  once  a  big  fat 
colonel  in  a  bright  red  uniform  entered  the  room, 
followed  by  ten  lean  soldiers,  who  all  looked  sad 
and  discouraged  and  saluted  the  princess  in  a  very 
melancholy  fashion. 

"Carry  that  girl  to  the  North  Tower  and  lock 
her  up  I "  cried  the  Princess,  pointing  to  Dorothy. 

"  To  hear  is  to  obey,"  answered  the  big  red  colonel, 
and  caught  the  child  by  her  arm.  But  at  that  mo- 
ment Tiktok  raised  his  dinner-pail  and  pounded  it 
so  forcibly  against  the  colonel's  head  that  the  big 
officer  sat  down  upon  the  floor  with  a  sudden  bump, 

86 


The  Heads  of  Langwidere 

looking   both   dazed    and    very    much    astonished, 

"Help!"  he  shouted,  and  the  ten  lean  soldiers 
sprang  to  assist  their  leader. 

There  was  great  excitement  for  the  next  few 
moments,  and  Tiktok  had  knocked  down  seven  of 
the  army,  who  were  sprawling  in  every  direction 
upon  the  carpet,  when  suddenly  the  machine  paused, 
with  the  dinner-pail  raised  for  another  blow,  and 
remained  perfectly  motionless. 

"My  ac-tion  has  run  down,"  he  called  to  Doro- 
thy.    "Wind  me  up,  quick." 

She  tried  to  obey,  but  the  big  colonel  had  by 
this  time  managed  to  get  upon  his  feet  again,  so  he 
grabbed  fast  hold  of  the  girl  and  she  was  helpless 
to  escape. 

"This  is  too  bad,"  said  the  machine.  "I  ought 
to  have  run  six  hours  lon-ger,  at  least,  but  I  sup-pose 
my  long  walk  and  my  fight  with  the  Wheel-ers 
made  me  run  down  fast-er  than  us-u-al." 

"  Well,  it  can't  be  helped,"  said  Dorothy, with  a  sigh. 

"Will  you  exchange  heads  with  me?"  demanded 
the  Princess. 

"No,  indeed!"  cried  Dorothy. 

"Then  lock  her  up,"  said  Langwidere  to  her 
soldiers,  and  they  led  Dorothy  to  a  high  tower  at  the 
north  of  the  palace  and  locked  her  securely  within. 

87 


Ozma        of        Oz 

The  soldiers  afterward  tried  to  lift  Tiktok,  but 
they  found  the  machine  so  solid  and  heavy  that 
they  could  not  stir  it.  So  they  left  him  standing 
in  the  center  of  the  drawing-room. 

"People  will  think  I  have  a  new  statue,"  said 
Langwidere,  "so  it  won't  matter  in  the  least,  and 
Nanda  can  keep  him  well  polished.'* 

"What  shall  we  do  with  the  hen?"  asked  the 
colonel,  who  had  just  discovered  Billina  in  the 
work-basket. 

"Put  her  in  the  chicken-house,"  answered  the 
Princess.  "  Some  day  I'll  have  her  fried  for  breakfast." 

"She  looks  rather  tough.  Your  Highness,"  said 
Nanda,  doubtfully. 

"That  is  a  base  slander!"  cried  Billina,  struggling 
frantically  in  the  colonel's  arms.  "But  the  breed 
of  chickens  I  come  from  is  said  to  be  poison  to  all 
princesses." 

"Then,"  remarked  Langwidere,  "I  will  not  fry 
the  hen,  but  keep  her  to  lay  eggs;  and  if  she  doesn't 
do  her  duty  Til  have  her  drowned  in  the  horse  trough/ 


88 


OzinayOz  /oiSfe^:ue 


brought  Dorothy  bread 
and  water  for  her  supper, 
and  she  slept  upon  a  hard 
stone   couch    with    a    single 
pillow  and    a  silken    coverlet. 

In    the    morning    she    leaned 
out  of  the  window  of  her  prison 
in  the  tower  to  see  if  there  was  any 
way  to  escape.    The  room  was  not  so 
very  high  up,  when  compared  with  our 
modern  buildings,  but  it  was  far  enough 
above   the  trees  and   farm  houses   to  give 
her  a  good  view  of  the  surrounding  country. 

To  the  east  she  saw  the  forest,  with  the  sands 
beyond  it  and  the  ocean  beyond  that.      There 
was  even  a  dark  speck  upon  the  shore  that  she 

89 


Ozma        of        Oz 

thought  might  be  the  chicken-coop  in  which  she  had 
arrived  at  this  singular  country. 

Then  she  looked  to  the  north,  and  saw  a  deep 
but  narrow  valley  lying  between  two  rocky  moun- 
tains, and  a  third  mountain  that  shut  off  the  valley 
at  the  further  end. 

Westward  the  fertile  Land  of  Ev  suddenly  ended 
a  little  way  from  the  palace,  and  the  girl  could  see 
miles  and  miles  of  sandy  desert  that  stretched  fur- 
ther than  her  eyes  could  reach.  It  was  this  desert, 
she  thought,  with  much  interest,  that  alone  separated 
her  from  the  wonderful  Land  of  Oz,  and  she  re- 
membered sorrowfully  that  she  had  been  told  no 
one  had  ever  been  able  to  cross  this  dangerous  waste 
but  herself  Once  a  cyclone  had  carried  her  across 
it,  and  a  magical  pair  of  silver  shoes  had  carried  her 
back  again.  But  now  she  had  neither  a  cyclone  nor 
silver  shoes  to  assist  her,  and  her  condition  was  sad 
indeed.  For  she  had  become  the  prisoner  of  a  dis- 
agreeable princess  who  insisted  that  she  must  ex- 
change her  head  for  another  one  that  she  was  not 
used  to,  and  which  might  not  fit  her  at  all. 

Really,  there  seemed  no  hope  of  help  for  her  from 
her  old  friends  in  the  Land  of  Oz.  Thoughtfully 
she  gazed  from  her  narrow  window.  On  all  the 
desert  not  a  living  thing  was  stirring. 

90 


Ozma    to    the    Rescue 

Wait,  though!  Something  surely  was  stirring  on 
the  desert — something  her  eyes  had  not  observed  at 
first.  Now  it  seemed  like  a  cloud;  now  it  seemed 
like  a  spot  of  silver;  now  it  seemed  to  be  a  mass  of 
rainbow  colors  that  moved  swiftly  toward  her. 

What  could  it  be,  she  wondered? 

Then,  gradually,  but  in  a  brief  space  of  time 
nevertheless,  the  vision  drew  near  enough  to  Dorothy 
to  make  out  what  it  was. 

A  broad  green  carpet  was  unrolling  itself  upon 
the  desert,  while  advancing  across  the  carpet  was  a 
wonderful  procession  that  made  the  girl  open  her 
eyes  in  amazement  as  she  gazed. 

First  came  a  magnificent  golden  chariot,  drawn 
by  a  great  Lion  and  an  immense  Tiger,  who  stood 
shoulder  to  shoulder  and  trotted  along  as  gracefully 
as  a  well-matched  team  of  thoroughbred  horses. 
And  standing  upright  within  the  chariot  was  a  beau- 
tiful girl  clothed  in  flowing  robes  of  silver  gauze  and 
wearing  a  jeweled  diadem  upon  her  dainty  head. 
She  held  in  one  hand  the  satin  ribbons  that  guided 
her  astonishing  team,  and  in  the  other  an  ivory  wand 
that  separated  at  the  top  into  two  prongs,  the  prongs 
being  tipped  by  the  letters  "O**  and  "Z",  made  of 
glistening  diamonds  set  closely  together. 

The   girl    seemed   neither  older  nor  larger   than 

91 


Ozma        of         Oz 

Dorothy  herself,  and  at  once  the  prisoner  in  the 
tower  guessed  that  the  lovely  driver  of  the  chariot 
must  be  that  Ozma  of  Oz  of  whom  she  had  so  lately 
heard  from  Tiktok. 

Following  close  behind  the  chariot  Dorothy  saw 
her  old  friend  the  Scarecrow,  riding  calmly  astride 
a  wooden  Saw-Horse,  which  pranced  and  trotted  as 
naturally  as  any  meat  horse  could  have  done. 

And  then  came  Nick  Chopper,  the  Tin  Wood- 
man, with  his  funnel-shaped  cap  tipped  carelessly 
over  his  left  ear,  his  gleaming  axe  over  his  right 
shoulder,  and  his  whole  body  sparkling  as  brightly 
as  it  had  ever  done  in  the  old  days  when  first  she 
knew  him. 

The  Tin  Woodman  was  on  foot,  marching  at  the 
head  of  a  company  of  twenty-seven  soldiers,  of  whom 
some  were  lean  and  some  fat,  some  short  and  some 
tall;  but  all  the  twenty-seven  were  dressed  in  hand- 
some uniforms  of  various  designs  and  colors,  no  two 
being  alike  in  any  respect. 

Behind  the  soldiers  the  green  carpet  rolled  itself 
up  again,  so  that  there  was  always  just  enough  of  it 
for  the  procession  to  walk  upon,  in  order  that  their 
feet  might  not  come  in  contact  with  the  deadly, 
life-destroying  sands  of  the  desert. 

Dorothy  knew  at  once  it  was  a  magic  carpet  she 

92 


THE  MAGIC  CARPET 


Ozma        of        Oz 

beheld,  and  her  heart  beat  high  with  hope  and  joy 
as  she  realized  she  was  soon  to  be  rescued  and  al- 
lowed to  greet  her  dearly  beloved  friends  of  Oz — 
the  Scarecrow,  the  Tin  Woodman  and  the  Cowardly 
Lion. 

Indeed,  the  girl  felt  herself  as  good  as  rescued  as 
soon  as  she  recognized  those  in  the  procession,  for 
she  well  knew  the  courage  and  loyalty  of  her  old 
comrades,  and  also  believed  that  any  others  who 
came  from  their  marvelous  country  would  prove  to 
be  pleasant  and  reliable  acquaintances. 

As  soon  as  the  last  bit  of  desert  was  passed  and  all 
the  procession,  from  the  beautiful  and  dainty  Ozma 
to  the  last  soldier,  had  reached  the  grassy  meadows 
of  the  Land  of  Bv,  the  magic  carpet  rolled  itself 
together  and  entirely  disappeared. 

Then  the  chariot  driver  turned  her  Lion  and 
Tiger  into  a  broad  roadway  leading  up  to  the  palace, 
and  the  others  followed,  while  Dorothy  still  gazed 
from  her  tower  window  in  eager  excitement. 

They  came  quite  close  to  the  front  door  of  the 
palace  and  then  halted,  the  Scarecrow  dismounting 
from  his  Saw-Horse  to  approach  the  sign  fastened 
to  the  door,  that  he  might  read  what  it  said. 

Dorothy,  just  above  him,  could  keep  silent  no 
longer, 

94 


Ozma    to    the    Rescue 


"Here  I  am! "she  shouted, as  loudly  as  she  could. 
"Here's  Dorothy  I" 

"Dorothy  who?"  asked  the  Scarecrow,  tipping 
his  head  to  look  upward  until  he  nearly  lost  his  bal- 
ance and  tumbled  over  backward. 

"Dorothy  Gale,  of  course.  Your  friend  from 
Kansas,"  she  answered. 

"Why,  hello,  Dorothy!"  said  the  Scarecrow. 
"What  in  the  world  are  you  doing  up  there?" 

95 


Ozma        of        Oz 

"Nothing/*  she  called  down,  "because  there's 
nothing  to  do.      Save  me,  my  friend — save  me!" 

"You  seem  to  be  quite  safe  now,'*  replied  the 
Scarecrow. 

"But  I'm  a  prisoner.  I'm  locked  in,  so  that  I 
can't  get  out,"  she  pleaded. 

"That's  all  right,"  said  the  Scarecrow.  "You 
might  be  worse  off,  little  Dorothy.  Just  consider 
the  matter.  You  can't  get  drowned,  or  be  run  over 
by  a  Wheeler,  or  fall  out  of  an  apple-tree.  Some 
folks  would  think  they  were  lucky  to  be  up  there." 

"Well,  I  don't,"  declared  the  girl,  "and  I  want 
to  get  down  immed'i'tly  and  see  you  and  the  Tin 
Woodman  and  the  Cowardly  Lion." 

"Very  well,"  said  the  Scarecrow,  nodding.  "It 
shall  be  just  as  you  say,  little  friend.  Who  locked 
you  up?  " 

"The  princess  Langwidere,  who  is  a  horrid  crea- 
ture," she  answered. 

At  this  Ozma,  who  had  been  listening  carefully 
to  the  conversation,  called  to  Dorothy  from  her 
chariot,  asking: 

"Why  did  the  Princess  lock  you  up,  my   dear?" 

"Because,"  exclaimed  Dorothy,  "I  wouldn't  let 
her  have  my  head  for  her  collection,  and  take  an 
old,  cast-off  head  in  exchange  for  it." 


SAVE  ME.  MY  FRIEND— SAVE  ME  I" 


Ozma        of        Oz 

"I  do  not  blame  you,'*  exclaimed  Ozma, promptly. 
"I  will  see  the  Princess  at  once,  and  oblige  her  to 
liberate  you/* 

"Oh,  thank  you  very,  very  much!  '*  cried  Dorothy, 
who  as  soon  as  she  heard  the  sweet  voice  of  the 
girlish  Ruler  of  Oz  knew  that  she  would  soon  learn 
to  love  her  dearly. 

Ozma  now  drove  her  chariot  around  to  the  third 
door  of  the  wing,  upon  which  the  Tin  Woodman 
boldly  proceeded  to  knock. 

As  soon  as  the  maid  opened  the  door  Ozma, 
bearing  in  her  hand  her  ivory  wand,  stepped  into 
the  hall  and  made  her  way  at  once  to  the  drawing- 
room,  followed  by  all  her  company,  except  the  Lion 
and  the  Tiger.  And  the  twenty-seven  soldiers  made 
such  a  noise  and  a  clatter  that  the  little  maid  Nanda 
ran  away  screaming  to  her  mistress,  whereupon  the 
Princess  Langwidere,  roused  to  great  anger  by  this 
rude  invasion  of  her  palace,  came  running  into  the 
drawing  room  without  any  assistance  whatever. 

There  she  stood  before  the  slight  and  delicate 
form  of  the  little  girl  from  Oz  and  cried  out; — 

"How  dare  you  enter  my  palace  unbidden? 
Leave  this  room  at  once,  or  I  will  bind  you  and  all 
your  people  in  chains,  and  throw  you  into  my  dark- 
est dungeons  I  *' 

98 


Ozma    to    the    Rescue 


"What  a  dangerous  lady!"  murmured  the  Scare- 


crow, in  a  soft  voice. 


"She  seems  a  little  nervous,"  replied  the  Tin 
Woodman. 

But  Ozma  only  smiled  at  the  angry  Princess. 

"Sit  down,  please,"  she  said,  quietly.  "I  have 
traveled  a  long  way  to  see  you,  and  you  must  listen 
to  what  I  have  to  say." 

"Must!"  screamed  the  Princess,  her  black  eyes 
flashing  with  fury — for  she  still  wore  her  No,  17 
head.     "Must,  to  mel"" 

99 


Ozma        of        Oz 

"To  be  sure,"  said  Ozma.  "I  am  Ruler  of  the 
Land  of  Oz,  and  I  am  powerful  enough  to  destroy 
all  your  kingdom,  if  I  so  wish.  Yet  I  did  not  come 
here  to  do  harm,  but  rather  to  free  the  royal  family 
of  Ev  from  the  thrall  of  the  Noma  King,  the  news 
having  reached  me  that  he  is  holding  the  Queen 
and  her  children  prisoners." 

Hearing  these  words,  Langwidere  suddenly  be- 
came quiet. 

"I  wish  you  could,  indeed,  free  my  aunt  and  her 
ten  royal  children,"  said  she,  eagerly.  "For  if  they 
were  restored  to  their  proper  forms  and  station  they 
could  rule  the  Kingdom  of  Ev  themselves,  and  that 
would  save  me  a  lot  of  worry  and  trouble.  At 
present  there  are  at  least  ten  minutes  every  day  that 
I  must  devote  to  affairs  of  state,  and  I  would  like 
to  be  able  to  spend  my  whole  time  in  admiring  my 
beautiful  heads." 

"Then  we  will  presently  discuss  this  matter," 
said  Ozma,  "and  try  to  find  a  way  to  liberate  your 
aunt  and  cousins.  But  first  you  must  liberate  an- 
other prisoner — the  little  girl  you  have  locked  up 
in  your  tower." 

"Of  course,"  said  Langwidere,  readily.  "I  had 
forgotten  all  about  her.  That  was  yesterday,  you 
know,    and    a    Princess     cannot    be    expected     to 

100 


"WHAT  A  DANGEROUS  LADYl"  MURMURED  THE  SCARECROW 


Ozma       of        Oz 

remember  today  what  she  did  yesterday.  Come 
with  me,  and  I  will  release  the  prisoner  at  once/* 

So  Ozma  followed  her,  and  they  passed  up  the 
stairs  that  led  to  the  room  in  the  tower. 

While  they  were  gone  Ozma*s  followers  remained 
in  the  drawing-room,  and  the  Scarecrow  was  lean- 
ing against  a  form  that  he  had  mistaken  for  a  copper 
statue  when  a  harsh,  metallic  voice  said  suddenly  in 
his  ear: 

<«  Get  off  my  foot,  please.  You  are  scratch-ing 
my  pol-ish." 

"Oh,  excuse  me!"  he  replied,  hastily  drawing 
back.      "Are  you  alive?*' 

"No,**  said  Tiktok,  "I  am  on-ly  a  ma-chine.  But 
I  can  think  and  speak  and  act,  when  I  am  pro-per- 
ly  wound  up.  Just  now  my  ac-tion  is  run  down, 
and  Dor-o-thy  has  the  key  to  it.'* 

"That's  all  right,**  replied  the  Scarecrow.  Dor- 
othy will  soon  be  free,  and  then  she*ll  attend  to  your 
works.  But  it  must  be  a  great  misfortune  not  to 
be  alive.      Fm  sorry  for  you.'* 

"Why?"  asked  Tiktok. 

"Because  you  have  no  brains,  as  I  have,"  said  the 
Scarecrow. 

"Oh,  yes,  I  have,"  returned  Tiktok.  "I  am 
fit-ted  with  Smith  8c  Tin-ker*s  Improved   Com-bi- 

102 


Ozma    to    the    Rescue 

na-tion  Steel  Brains.  They  are  what  make  me 
think.      What  sort  of  brains  are  you  fit-ted  with?** 

"  I  don't  know,"  admitted  the  Scarecrow.  "They 
were  given  to  me  by  the  great  Wizard  of  Oz, 
and  I  didn't  get  a  chance  to  examine  them  be- 
fore he  put  them  in.  But  they  work  splendidly  and 
my  conscience  is  very  active.  Have  you  a  con- 
science?" 

«No,"   said   Tiktok. 

"And  no  heart,  I  suppose  ? "  added  the  Tin  Wood- 
man, who  had  been  listening  with  interest  to  this 
conversation. 

"No,"  said  Tiktok. 

"Then,"  continued  the  Tin  Woodman,  "I  regret 
to  say  that  you  are  greatly  inferior  to  my  friend  the 
Scarecrow,  and  to  myself.  For  we  are  both  alive, 
and  he  has  brains  which  do  not  need  to  be  wound 
up,  while  I  have  an  excellent  heart  that  is  continu- 
ally beating  in  my  bosom." 

"I  con-grat-u-late  you,"  replied  Tiktok.  "I  can- 
not help  be-ing  your  in-fer-i-or  for  I  am  a  mere 
ma-chine.  When  I  am  wound  up  I  do  my  du-ty 
by  go-ing  just  as  my  ma-chin-er-y  is  made  to  go. 
You  have  no  i-de-a  how  full  of  ma-chin-er-y  I  am." 

"I  can  guess,"  said  the  Scarecrow,  looking  at 
the  machine  man  curiously.      "Some  day  I'd  like 

103 


o 


z    m 


o 


f     o 


to  take  you  apart  and  see  just  how  you  are  made.** 

"Do  not  do  that,  I  beg  of  you,"  said  Tiktok; 
"for  you  could  not  put  me  to-geth-er  a-gain,  and 
my  use-ful-ness  would  be  de-stroyed ." 

"Oh!  are  you  useful?'*  asked  the  Scarecrow,  sur- 
prised. 

"Ve-ry,"  said  Tiktok. 

"In  that  case,**  the  Scarecrow  kindly  promised, 
"I  won*t  fool  with  your  interior  at  all.  For  I  am 
a  poor  mechanic,  and  might  mix  you  up.** 

"Thank  you,**  said  Tiktok. 

Just  then  Ozma  re-entered  the  room,  leading 
Dorothy  by  the  hand  and  followed  closely  by  the 
Princess  Langwidere. 


104 


The  tlungrg  Tigei 


«n 


xLh 


first    thing     Dorothy 

did    was    to    rush    into 

the    embrace    of   the 

Scarecrow,  whose    painted 

face  beamed  with   delight  as  \\    " 

he    pressed    her    form    to    his     \ 

straw-padded     bosom.        Then 

the     Tin     Woodman     embraced     y/ 

her — very  gently,  for  he  knew  his 

tin  arms  might  hurt  her  if  he  squeezed 

too  roughly. 

These    greetings    having     been    ex- 
changed, Dorothy  took  the  key  to  Tiktok 
from  her  pocket  and  wound  up  the  machine 
man*s  action,  so  that  he  could  bow  properly 
when  introduced  to  the  rest  of  the  company, 

105 


Ozma       of       Oz 

while  doing  this  she  told  them  now  useful  Tiktok 
had  been  to  her,  and  both  the  Scarecrow  and  the 
Tin  Woodman  shook  hands  with  the  machine  once 
more  and  thanked  him  for  protecting  their  friend. 

Then  Dorothy  asked:    "Where  is  Billina?*' 

"I  don't  know,"  said  the  Scarecrow.  "Who  is 
Billina?'' 

"She's  a  yellow  hen  who  is  another  friend  of 
mine,"  answered  the  girl,  anxiously.  "I  wonder 
what  has  become  of  her?" 

"She  is  in  the  chicken  house,  in  the  back  yard," 
said  the  Princess.  "My  drawing-room  is  no  place 
for  hens." 

Without  waiting  to  hear  more  Dorothy  ran  to 
get  Billina,  and  just  outside  the  door  she  came  upon 
the  Cowardly  Lion,  still  hitched  to  the  chariot  be- 
side the  great  Tiger.  The  Cowardly  Lion  had  a 
big  bow  of  blue  ribbon  fastened  to  the  long  hair 
between  his  ears,  and  the  Tiger  wore  a  bow  of  red 
ribbon   on  his  tail,  just  in  front  of  the  bushy  end. 

In  an  instant  Dorothy  was  hugging  the  huge  Lion 
joyfully. 

"I'm  so  glad  to  see  you  again!"  she  cried. 

"I  am  also  glad  to  see  you,  Dorothy,"  said  the 
Lion.  "We've  had  some  fine  adventures  together, 
haven't  we?" 

106 


The    Hungry    Tiger 

"Yes,  indeed,"  she  replied.      "How  are  you?** 

"As  cowardly  as  ever,**  the  beast  answered  in   a 

meek   voice.      "Every    little  thing  scares    me    and 

makes  my  heart   beat  fast.      But  let  me  introduce 

to  you  a  new   friend  of  mine,  the  Hungry  Tiger.*' 


"Oh!  Are  you  hungry?*'  she  asked,  turning  to 
the  other  beast,  who  was  just  then  yawning  so  wide- 
ly that  he  displayed  two  rows  of  terrible  teeth  and 
a  mouth  big  enough  to  startle  anyone. 

"Dreadfully  hungry,*'  answered  the  Tiger,  snap- 
ping his  jaws  together  with  a  fierce  click. 

"Then  why  don*t  you  eat  something?"  she  asked, 

107 


Ozma        of        Oz 

"It's  no  use,"  said  the  Tiger  sadly.  "Tve  tried 
that,  but  I  always  get  hungry  again." 

"Why,  it  is  the  same  with  me,"  said  Dorothy. 
"Yet  I  keep  on  eating." 

"But  you  eat  harmless  things,  so  it  doesn't  mat- 
ter," replied  the  Tiger.  "For  my  part,  I'm  a  sav- 
age beast,  and  have  an  appetite  for  all  sorts  of  poor 
little  living  creatures,  from  a  chipmonk  to  fat  babies. 

"How  dreadful!"  said  Dorothy. 

"Isn't  it,  though?"  returned  the  Hungry  Tiger, 
licking  his  lips  with  his  long  red  tongue.  "Fat 
babies!  Don't  they  sound  delicious?  But  I've 
never  eaten  any,  because  my  conscience  tells  me  it 
is  wrong.  If  I  had  no  conscience  I  would  probably 
eat  the  babies  and  then  get  hungry  again,  which 
would  mean  that  I  had  sacrificed  the  poor  babies 
for  nothing.  No;  hungry  I  was  born,  and  hungry 
I  shall  die.  But  I'll  not  have  any  cruel  deeds  on  my 
conscience  to  be  sorry  for." 

"I  think  you  are  a  very  good  tiger,"  said  Dor- 
othy, patting  the  huge  head  of  the  beast. 

"In  that  you  are  mistaken,"  was  the  reply.  "I 
am  a  good  beast,  perhaps,  but  a  disgracefully  bad 
tiger.  For  it  is  the  nature  of  tigers  to  be  cruel 
and  ferocious,  and  in  refusing  to  eat  harmless  living 
creatures   I   am  acting  as   no  good   tiger   has   ever 

108 


■" 


THE  HUNGRY  TIGER 


Ozma       of        Oz 

before  acted.  That  is  why  I  left  the  forest  and  joined 
my  friend  the  Cowardly  Lion." 

<<  But  the  Lion  is  not  really  cowardly,"  said  Dor- 
othy.     "I  have  seen  him  act  as  bravely  as  can  be." 

"All  a  mistake,  my  dear,"  protested  the  Lion 
gravely.  "To  others  I  may  have  seemed  brave,  at 
times,  but  I  have  never  been  in  any  danger  that  I 
was  not  afraid." 

"Nor  I,"  said  Dorothy,  truthfully  "  But  I  must 
go  and  set  free  Billina,  and  then  I  will  see  you 
again." 

She  ran  around  to  the  back  yard  of  the  palace 
and  soon  found  the  chicken  house,  being  guided  to 
it  by  a  loud  cackling  and  crowing  and  a  distracting 
hubbub  of  sounds  such  as  chickens  make  when  they 
are  excited. 

Something  seemed  to  be  wrong  in  the  chicken 
house,  and  when  Dorothy  looked  through  the  slats 
in  the  door  she  saw  a  group  of  hens  and  roosters 
huddled  in  one  corner  and  watching  what  appeared 
to  be  a  whirling  ball  of  feathers.  It  bounded  here 
and  there  about  the  chicken  house,  and  at  first 
Dorothy  could  not  tell  what  it  was,  while  the 
screeching  of  the  chickens  nearly  deafened  her. 

But  suddenly  the  bunch  of  feathers  stopped 
whirling,  and  then,  to  her  amazement,  the  girl  saw 

110 


The    Hungry    Tiger 

Billina  crouching  upon  the  prostrate  form  of  a 
speckled  rooster.  For  an  instant  they  both  re- 
mained motionless,  and  then  the  yellow  hen  shook 
her  wings  to  settle  the  leathers  and  walked  toward 
the  door  with  a  strut  of  proud  defiance  and  a  cluck 
of  victory,  while  the  speckled  rooster  limped  away 
to  the  group  of  other  chickens,  trailing  his  crumpled 
plumage  in  the  dust  as  he  went. 

"Why,  Billina!"  cried  Dorothy,  in  a  shocked 
voice;  "have  you  been  fighting?" 

"I  really  think  I  have,**  retorted  Billina.  "Do 
you  think  Td  let  that  speckled  villain  of  a  rooster 
lord  it  over  mcy  and  claim  to  run  this  chicken 
house,  as  long  as  I'm  able  to  peck  and  scratch? 
Not  if  my  name  is  Bill!*' 

"It  isn't  Bill,  it's  Billina;  and  you're  talking  slang, 
which  is  very  undig'n'fied,"  said  Dorothy,  reprov- 
ingly. "Come  here,  Billina,  and  I'll  let  you  out; 
for  Ozma  of  Oz  is  here,  and  has  set  us  free." 

So  the  yellow  hen  came  to  the  door,  which  Dor- 
othy unlatched  for  her  to  pass  through,  and  the 
other  chickens  silently  watched  them  from  their 
corner  without  offering  to  approach  nearer. 

The  girl  lifted  her  friend  in  her  arms  and  ex- 
claimed: 

"Oh,  Billina!  how  dreadful  you  look.      You've 

111 


Ozma        of        Oz 

lost  a  lot  of  feathers,  and  one  of  your  eyes  is  nearly 
pecked  out,  and  your  comb  is  bleeding!'* 

"That's  nothing,"  said  Billina.  "Just  look  at 
the  speckled  rooster!      Didn't  I  do  him  up  brown?" 

Dorothy  shook  her  head. 

"I  don't  'prove  of  this,  at  all,"  she  said,  carrying 
Billina  away  toward  the  palace.  "It  isn't  a  good 
thing  for  you  to  'sociate  with  those  common 
chickens.  They  would  soon  spoil  your  good  man- 
ners, and  you  wouldn't  be  respec'able  any  more." 

"I  didn't  ask  to  associate  with  them,"  replied 
Billina.  "It  is  that  cross  old  Princess  who  is  to 
blame.  But  I  was  raised  in  the  United  States,  and 
I  won't  allow  any  one-horse  chicken  of  the  Land 
of  Ev  to  run  over  me  and  put  on  airs,  as  long  as  I 
can  lift  a  claw  in  self-defense." 

"Very  well,  Billina,"  said  Dorothy.  "We  won't 
talk  about  it  any  more." 

Soon  they  came  to  the  Cowardly  Lion  and  the 
Hungry  Tiger  to  whom  the  girl  introduced  the 
Yellow  Hen. 

"  Glad  to  meet  any  friend  of  Dorothy's,"  said  the 
Lion,  politely.  "To  judge  by  your  present  appear- 
ance, you  are  not  a  coward,  as  I  am." 

"Your  present  appearance  makes  my  mouth 
water,"  said  the  Tiger,  looking  at   Billina  greedily. 

112 


'  WHY.  BILUNA I "  CRIED  DOROTHY;  "  HAVE  YOU  BEEN  FIGHTING?  " 


Ozma        of        Oz 

"My,  my!  how  good  you  would  taste  if  I  could  only 
crunch  you  between  my  jaws.  But  don't  worry. 
You  would  only  appease  my  appetite  for  a  moment; 
so  it  isn't  worth  while  to  eat  you." 

"  Thank  you,"  said  the  hen,  nestling  closer  in 
Dorothy's  arms. 

"  Besides,  it  wouldn't  be  right,"  continued  the 
Tiger,  looking  steadily  at  Billina  and  clicking  his 
jaws  together. 

"  Of  course  not,"  cried  Dorothy,  hastily.  "Billina 
is  my  friend,  and  you  mustn't  ever  eat  her  under  any 
circ'mstances." 

"I'll  try  to  remember  that,"  said  the  Tiger;  "but 
I'm  a  little  absent-minded,  at  times." 

Then  Dorothy  carried  her  pet  into  the  drawing- 
room  of  the  palace,  where  Tiktok,  being  invited  to 
do  so  by  Ozma,  had  seated  himself  between  the 
Scarecrow  and  the  Tin  Woodman,  Opposite  to  them 
sat  Ozma  herself  and  the  Princess  Langwidere,  and 
beside  them  there  was  a  vacant  chair  for  Dorothy. 

Around  this  important  group  was  ranged  the 
Army  of  Oz,  and  as  Dorothy  looked  at  the  hand- 
some uniforms  of  the  Twenty-Seven  she  said: 

"Why,  they  seem  to  be  all  officers." 

"They  are,  all  except  one,"  answered  the  Tin 
Woodman.      "I  have  in   my  Army   eight   Generals, 

114 


The    Hungry    Tiger 

six  Colonels,  seven  Majors  and  five  Captains,  besides 
one  private  for  them  to  command.  I'd  like  to  pro- 
mote the  private,  for  I  believe  no  private  should  ever 
be  in  public  life;  and  I've  also  noticed  that  officers 
usually  fight  better  and  are  more  reliable  than  com- 
mon soldiers.  Besides,  the  officers  are  more  impor- 
tant looking,  and  lend  dignity  to  our  army." 

"No  doubt  you  are  right,"  said  Dorothy,  seating 
herself  beside  Ozma. 

"And  now,"  announced  the  girlish  Ruler  of  Oz, 
"we  will  hold  a  solemn  conference  to  decide  the 
best  manner  of  liberating  the  royal  family  of  this 
fair  Land  of  Ev  from  their  long  imprisonment." 


115 


y^eUoyal  ISmily  5^^ 


Tin    Woodman   was 
the   first   to   address    the 
meeting. 

<<To  begin  with,"  said  he, 
"word  came  to  our  noble  and 
illustrous  Ruler,  Ozma  of  Oz,  that 
the  wife   and    ten    children — five 
boys  and  five  girls — of  the  former 
King   of  Ev,  by  name  Evoldo,  have 
been  enslaved  by   the  Nome  King  and 
are  held  prisoners  in  his  underground  pal- 
ace.     Also   that   there  was  no  one  in   Ev 
powerful  enough  to  release  them.      Naturally 
our  Ozma  wished  to  undertake  the  adventure 
of  liberating  the  poor  prisoners;  but  for  a  long 
time    she   could  find  no  way  to  cross  the  great 

116 


The  Royal   Family   of   Ev 

desert  between  the  two  countries.  Finally  she  went 
to  a  friendly  sorceress  of  our  land  named  Glinda  the 
Good,  who  heard  the  story  and  at  once  presented 
Ozma  a  magic  carpet,  which  would  continually  un- 
roll beneath  our  feet  and  so  make  a  comfortable  path 
for  us  to  cross  the  desert.  As  soon  as  she  had  re- 
ceived the  carpet  our  gracious  Ruler  ordered  me  to 
assemble  our  army,  which  I  did.  You  behold  in 
these  bold  warriors  the  pick  of  all  the  finest  soldiers 
of  Oz;  and,  if  we  are  obliged  to  fight  the  Nome 
King,  every  officer  as  well  as  the  private,  will  battle 
fiercely  unto  death." 

Then  Tiktok  spoke. 

"Why  should  you  fight  the  Nome  King?"  he 
asked.      "He  has  done  no  wrong." 

"No  wrong!"  cried  Dorothy.  "Isn't  it  wrong 
to  imprison  a  queen  mother  and  her  ten  children?" 

"  They  were  sold  to  the  Nome  King  by  King 
Ev-ol-do,"  replied  Tiktok.  "It  was  the  King  of  Ev 
who  did  wrong,  and  when  he  re-al-ized  what  he  had 
done  he  jumped  in-to  the  sea  and  drowned  him-self.*** 

"This  is  news  to  me,"  said  Ozma,  thoughtfully 
"I  had  supposed  the  Nome  King  was  all  to  blame 
in  the  matter.  But,  in  any  case,  he  must  be  made 
to  liberate  the  prisoners." 

"My    uncle    Evoldo    was    a   very   wicked  man« 

117 


Ozma        of        Oz 

declared  the  Princess  Langwidere.  "If  he  had 
drowned  himself  before  he  sold  his  family,  no  one 
would  have  cared.  But  he  sold  them  to  the  pow- 
erful Nome  King  in  exchange  for  a  long  life,  and 
afterward  destroyed  the  life  by  jumping  into  the 
sea. 

"Then,'*  said  Ozma,  "he  did  not  get  the  long 
life,  and  the  Nome  King  must  give  up  the  prison- 
ers.     Where  are  they  confined?" 

"No  one  knows,  exactly,"  replied  the  Princess. 
"For  the  king,  whose  name  is  Roquat  of  the  Rocks, 
owns  a  splendid  palace  underneath  the  great  moun- 
tain which  is  at  the  north  end  of  this  kingdom,  and 
he  has  transformed  the  queen  and  her  children  into 
ornaments  and  bric-a-brac  with  which  to  decorate 
his  rooms." 

"Fd  like  to  know,"  said  Dorothy,  "who  this 
Nome  King  is?" 

"I  will  tell  you,"  replied  Ozma.  "He  is  said  to 
be  the  Ruler  of  the  Underground  World,  and  com- 
mands the  rocks  and  all  that  the  rocks  contain. 
Under  his  rule  are  many  thousands  of  the  Nomes,  who 
are  queerly  shaped  but  powerful  sprites  that  labor  at 
the  furnaces  and  forges  of  their  king,  making  gold 
and  silver  and  other  metals  which  they  conceal  in 
the  crevices  of  the  rocks,  so  that  those  living  upon 

118 


The    Royal    Family   of   Ev 


the  earth's  surface  can  only  find  them  with  great 
dfficulty.  Also  they  make  diamonds  and  rubies  and 
emeralds,  which  they  hide  in  the  ground;  so  that 
the  kingdom  of  the  Nomes  is  wonderfully  rich,  and 
all  we  have  of  precious  stones  and  silver  and  gold  is 
what  we  take  from  the  earth  and  rocks  where  the 
Nome  King  has  hidden   them.'* 

« I  understand,"  said  Dorothy,  nodding  her  lit- 
tle head  wisely. 

"For  the  reason  that  we  often  steal  his  treas- 
ures,'* continued  Ozma,  "the  Ruler  of  the  Under- 
ground World  is  not  fond  of  those  who  live  upon 
the  earth's  surface,  and  never  appears  among  us.  If 
wie  wish  to  see  King  Roquat  of  the  Rocks,  we  must 
visit  his  own  country,  where  he  is  all  powerful,  and 
therefore  it  will  be  a  dangerous  undertaking," 

"But,  for  the  sake  of  the  poor  prisoners,"  said 
Dorothy,  "we  ought  to  do  it." 

"We  shall  do  it,"  replied  the  Scarecrow,  "al- 
though it  requires  a  lot  of  courage  for  me  to  go 
near  to  the  furnaces  of  the  Nome  King.  For  I  am 
only  stuffed  with  straw,  and  a  single  spark  of  fire 
might  destroy  me  entirely." 

"The  furnaces  may  also  melt  my  tin,"  said  the 
Tin  Woodman;  "but  I  am  going." 

"I  can't  bear  heat,"  remarked  the  Princess  Lang- 

119 


Ozma        of        Oz 

widere,  yawning  lazily,  "so  I  shall  stay  at  home. 
But  I  wish  you  may  have  success  in  your  undertak- 
ing, for  I  am  heartily  tired  of  ruling  this  stupid 
kingdom,  and  I  need  more  leisure  in  which  to  ad- 
mire my  beautiful  heads." 

"We  do  not  need  you,"  said  Ozma.  "For,  if 
with  the  aid  of  my  brave  followers  I  cannot  accom- 
plish my  purpose,  then  it  would  be  useless  for  you 
to  undertake  the  journey." 

"Quite  true,"  sighed  the  Princess.  "So,  if  you*ll 
excuse  me,  I  will  now  retire  to  my  cabinet.  I've 
worn  this  head  quite  awhile,  and  I  want  to  change 
it  for  another." 

When  she  had  left  them  (and  you  may  be  sure 
no  one  was  sorry  to  see  her  go  )  Ozma  said  to  Tik- 
tok: 

"Will  you  join  our  party?" 

"I  am  the  slave  of  the  girl  Dor-oth-y,  who  res- 
cued me  from  pris-on,"  replied  the  machine. 
"Where  she  goes  I  will  go." 

"Oh,  I  am  going  with  my  friends,  of  course," 
said  Dorothy,  quickly.  "I  wouldn't  miss  the  fun 
for  anything.      Will  you  go,  too,  Billina?" 

"  To  be  sure,"  said  Billina  in  a  careless  tone. 
She  was  smoothing  down  the  feathers  of  her  back 
and  not  paying  much  attention. 

120 


I  CANT  BEAR  HEAT,"  REMARKED  LANGWIDERE 


Ozma        of        Oz 

"Heat  is  just  in  her  line,"  remarked  the  Scare- 
crow. "If  she  is  nicely  roasted,  she  will  be  better 
than  ever/* 

"Then''  said  Ozma,  "we  will  arrange  to  start  for 
the  Kingdom  of  the  Nomes  at  daybreak  tomorrow. 
And,  in  the  meantime,  we  will  rest  and  prepare 
ourselves  for  the  journey." 

Although  Princess  Langwidere  did  not  again 
appear  to  her  guests,  the  palace  servants  waited  upon 
the  strangers  from  Oz  and  did  everything  in  their 
power  to  make  the  party  comfortable.  There  were 
many  vacant  rooms  at  their  disposal,  and  the  brave 
Army  of  twenty-seven  was  easily  provided  for  and 
liberally  feasted. 

The  Cowardly  Lion  and  the  Hungry  Tiger  were 
unharnessed  from  the  chariot  and  allowed  to  roam 
at  will  throughout  the  palace,  where  they  nearly 
frightened  the  servants  into  fits,  although  they  did 
no  harm  at  all.  At  one  time  Dorothy  found  the 
little  maid  Nanda  crouching  in  terror  in  a  corner, 
with  the  Hungry  Tiger  standing  before  her. 

"You  certainly  look  delicious,"  the  beast  was 
saying.  "Will  you  kindly  give  me  permission  to  eat 
your 

"No,  no,  no!"  cried  the  maid  in  reply. 

"Then,"    said  the    Tiger,    yawning    frightfully, 

122 


The    Royal    Family    of   Ev 

"please  to  get  me  about  thirty  pounds  of  tenderloin 
steak,  cooked  rare,  with  a  peck  of  boiled  potatoes  on 
the  side,  and  five  gallons  of  ice-cream  for  dessert." 

"I — ril  do  the  best  I  can!'*  said  Nanda,  and  she 
ran  away  as  fast  as  she  could  go. 

"Are  you  so  very  hungry?"  asked  Dorothy,  in 
wonder. 

"You  can  hardly  imagine  the  size  of  my  appe- 
tite,*' replied  the  Tiger,  sadly.  "It  seems  to  fill  my 
whole  body,  from  the  end  of  my  throat  to  the  tip 
of  my  tail.  I  am  very  sure  the  appetite  doesn*t  fit 
me,  and  is  too  large  for  the  size  of  my  body.  Some 
day,  when  I  meet  a  dentist  with  a  pair  of  forceps, 
Fm  going  to  have  it  pulled.** 

"What,  your  tooth?**  asked  Dorothy. 

"No,  my  appetite,**  said  the  Hungry  Tiger. 

The  little  girl  spent  most  of  the  afternoon 
talking  with  the  Scarecrow  and  the  Tin  Woodman, 
who  related  to  her  all  that  had  taken  place  in  the 
Land  of  Oz  since  Dorothy  had  left  it.  She  was 
much  interested  in  the  story  of  Ozma,  who  had 
been,  when  a  baby,  stolen  by  a  wicked  old  witch 
and  transformed  into  a  boy.  She  did  not  know 
that  she  had  ever  been  a  girl  until  she  was  re- 
stored to  her  natural  form  by  a  kind  sorceress. 
Then  it  was  found  that  she  was  the  only  child  of 

123 


DOROTHY  RELATED  TO  THEM  HER  OWN  ADVENTURES 


The   Royal    Family   of    Ev 

the  former  Ruler  of  Oz,  and  was  entitled  to  rule  in 
his  place.  Ozma  had  many  adventures,  however, 
before  she  regained  her  father's  throne,  and  in  these 
she  was  accompanied  by  a  pumpkin-headed  man,  a 
highly  magnified  and  thoroughly  educated  Woggle- 
Bug,  and  a  wonderful  sawhorse  that  had  been 
brought  to  life  by  means  of  a  magic  powder.  The 
Scarecrow  and  the  Tin  Woodman  had  also  assisted 
her;  but  the  Cowardly  Lion,  who  ruled  the  great 
forest  as  the  King  of  Beasts,  knew  nothing  of  Ozma 
until  after  she  became  the  reigning  princess  of  Oz. 
Then  he  journeyed  to  the  Emerald  City  to  see  her, 
and  on  hearing  she  was  about  to  visit  the  Land  of 
Ev  to  set  free  the  royal  family  of  that  country,  the 
Cowardly  Lion  begged  to  go  with  her,  and  brought 
along  his  friend,  the  Hungry  Tiger,  as  well. 

Having  heard  this  story,  Dorothy  related  to  them 
her  own  adventures,  and  then  went  out  with  her 
friends  to  find  the  Sawhorse,  which  Ozma  had  caused 
to  be  shod  with  plates  of  gold,  so  that  its  legs  would 
not  wear  out. 

They  came  upon  the  Sawhorse  standing  motion- 
less beside  the  garden  gate,  but  when  Dorothy  was 
introduced  to  him  he  bowed  politely  and  blinked 
his  eyes,  which  were  knots  of  wood,  and  wagged 
his  tail,  which  was  only  the  branch  of  a  tree. 

125 


o 


m    a 


o 


f     o 


"What  a  remarkable  thing,  to  be  alive  I**  ex- 
claimed  Dorothy. 

"I  quiet  agree  with  you/*  replied  the  Sawhorse, 
in  a  rough  but  not  unpleasant  voice.  "A  creature 
like  me  has  no  business  to  live,  as  vv^e  all  know^.    But 


it  was  the  magic  powder  that  did  it,  so  I  cannot 
justly  be  blamed.*' 

"Of  course  not,"  said  Dorothy.  "And  you  seem 
to  be  of  some  use,  'cause  I  noticed  the  Scarecrow 
riding  upon  your  back." 

"Oh,  yes;    I'm  of  use,"  returned  the  Sawhorse; 

126 


The   Royal    Family   of   Ev 

« and  I  never  tire,  never  have  to  be  fed,  or  cared  for 
in  any  v^^ay." 

"Are  you  intergent?"  asked  the  girl. 

"Not  very/*  said  the  creature.  It  v^ould  be 
foolish  to  w^aste  intelligence  on  a  common  Sawhorse, 
when  so  many  professors  need  it.  But  I  know 
enough  to  obey  my  masters,  and  to  gid-dup,  or  whoa, 
when  I'm  told  to.      So  I'm  pretty  well  satisfied." 

That  night  Dorothy  slept  in  a  pleasant  little  bed- 
chamber next  to  that  occupied  by  Ozma  of  Oz,  and 
Billina  perched  upon  the  foot  of  the  bed  and  tucked 
her  head  under  her  wing  and  slept  as  soundly  in 
that  position  as  did  Dorothy  upon  her  soft  cush- 
ions. 

But  before  daybreak  every  one  was  awake  and 
stirring,  and  soon  the  adventurers  were  eating  a  hasty 
breakfast  in  the  great  dining-room  of  the  palace. 
Ozma  sat  at  the  head  of  a  long  table,  on  a  raised 
platform,  with  Dorothy  on  her  right  hand  and  the 
Scarecrow  on  her  left.  The  Scarecrow  did  not  eat, 
of  course;  but  Ozma  placed  him  near  her  so  that 
she  might  ask  his  advice  about  the  journey  while 
she  ate. 

Lower  down  the  table  were  the  twenty-seven 
warriors  of  Oz,  and  at  the  end  of  the  room  the  Lion 
and  the  Tiger  were  eating  out  of  a  kettle  that  had 

127 


Ozma        of        Oz 

been  placed  upon  the  floor,  while  Billina  fluttered 
around  to  pick  up  any  scraps  that  might  be 
scattered. 

It  did  not  take  long  to  finish  the  meal,  and  then 
the  Lion  and  the  Tiger  were  harnessed  to  the  char- 
iot and  the  party  was  ready  to  start  for  the  Nome 
King's  Palace. 

First  rode  Ozma,  with  Dorothy  beside  her  in  the 
golden  chariot  and  holding  Billina  fast  in  her  arms. 
Then  came  the  Scarecrow  on  the  Sawhorse,  with 
the  Tin  Woodman  and  Tiktok  marching  side  by 
side  just  behind  him.  After  these  tramped  the 
Army,  looking  brave  and  handsome  in  their  splendid 
uniforms.  The  generals  commanded  the  colonels 
and  the  colonels  commanded  the  majors  and  the 
majors  commanded  the  captains  and  the  captains 
commanded  the  private,  who  marched  with  an  air 
of  proud  importance  because  it  required  so  many 
officers  to  give  him  his  orders. 

And  so  the  magnificent  procession  left  the  palace 
and  started  along  the  road  just  as  day  was  breaking, 
and  by  the  time  the  sun  came  out  they  had  made 
good  progress  toward  the  valley  that  led  to  the 
Nome  King's  domain. 


128 


The,  Giant  ^kh  fie  HaiMfer 


//< 


m 


road  led   for    a    time 
through  a  pretty   farm 
country,  and  then  past  a 
picnic  grove  that  was  very 
inviting.    But  the  procession 
continued  to  steadily  advance 
until  Billina  cried  in  an  abrupt 
and  commanding  manner: 

"Wait — wait!" 

Ozma    stopped    her   chariot    so 
suddenly  that  the   Scarecrow's  Saw- 
horse  nearly  ran  into  it,  and  the  ranks  of 
the  army  tumbled  over  one  another  be- 
fore they  could  come  to  a  halt.      Immedi- 
ately the  yellow  hen  struggled  from  Dorothy's 
arms  and  flew  into  a  clump  of  bushes  by  the 
roadside. 

129 


Ozma        of        Oz 

«What*s  the  matter?'*  called  the  Tin  Woodman, 
anxiously. 

"Why,  Billina  wants  to  lay  her  egg,  that's  all," 
said  Dorothy. 

"Lay  her  egg!"  repeated  the  Tin  Woodman,  in 
astonishment. 

"Yes;  she  lays  one  every  morning,  about  this 
time;  and  it's  quite  fresh,"  said  the  girl. 

<<  But  does  your  foolish  old  hen  suppose  that  this 
entire  cavalcade,  which  is  bound  on  an  important 
adventure,  is  going  to  stand  still  while  she  lays  her 
egg?"  enquired  the  Tin  Woodman,  earnestly. 

"What  else  can  we  do?"  asked  the  girl.  "It's  a 
habit  of  Billina's  and  she  can't  break  herself  of  it." 

"Then  she  must  hurry  up,"  said  the  Tin  Wood- 
man, impatiently. 

"No,  no!"  exclaimed  the  Scarecrow.  "If  she 
hurries  she  may  lay  scrambled  eggs." 

"That's  nonsense,"  said  Dorothy.  "But  Billina 
won't  be  long,  I'm  sure." 

So  they  stood  and  waited,  although  all  were  rest- 
less and  anxious  to  proceed.  And  by  and  by  the 
yellow  hen  came  from  the  bushes  saying: 

"Kut-kut,  kut,  ka-daw-kutt!"  Kut,  kut,  kut — 
ka-daw-kut!" 


130 


The  Giant  With  the  Hammer 

"What  is  she  doing — singing  her  lay?"  asked  the 
Scarecrow. 

"For-ward — march!"  shouted  the  Tin  Woodman, 
waving  his  axe,  and  the  procession  started  just  as 
Dorothy  had  once  more  grabbed  Billina  in  her  arms. 


"Isn't  anyone  going  to  get  my  egg?"  cried  the 
hen,  in  great  excitement, 

"Til  get  it,"  said  the  Scarecrow;  and  at  his 
command  the  Sawhorse  pranced  into  the  bushes. 
The  straw  man  soon  found  the  egg,  which  he  placed 
in  his  jacket  pocket.  The  cavalcade,  having  moved 
rapidly  on,  was  even  then  far  in  advance;  but  it  did 


131 


o 


z    m    a 


f     o 


not  take  the  Sawhorse  long  to  catch  up  with  it,  and 
presently  the  Scarecrow  was  riding  in  his  accustomed 
place  behind  Ozma's  chariot. 

"What    shall    I    do    with    the    egg?"    h 
Dorothy. 

"I  do  not  know,"  the  girl  answered.      "Perhaps 
the  Hungry  Tiger  would  like  it." 


as 


ked 


"It  would  not  be  enough  to  fill  one  of  my  back 
teeth,"  remarked  the  Tiger.  "A  bushel  of  them, 
hard  boiled,  might  take  a  little  of  the  edge  off  my 
appetite;  but  one  egg  isn't  good  for  anything  at  all, 
that  I  know  of." 


132 


The  Giant  With  the  Hammer 


"No;  it  wouldn't  even  make  a  sponge  cake," 
said  the  Scarecrow,  thoughtfully.  "The  Tin  Wood- 
man might  carry  it  with  his  axe  and  hatch  it;  but 
after  all  I  may  as  well  keep  it  myself  for  a  souvenir.'* 
So  he  left  it  in  his  pocket. 

They  had  now  reached  that  part  of  the  valley 
that  lay  between  the   two  high   mountains  which 


Dorothy  had  seen  from  her  tower  window.  At  the 
far  end  was  the  third  great  mountain,  which  blocked 
the  valley  and  was  the  northern  edge  of  the  Land 
of  Ev.  It  was  underneath  this  mountain  that  the 
Nome  King's  palace  was  said  to  be;  but  it  would 


133 


Ozma        of        Oz 

be    some    time    before    they    reached    that    place. 

The  path  was  becoming  rocky  and  difficult  for 
the  wheels  of  the  chariot  to  pass  over,  and  presently 
a  deep  gulf  appeared  at  their  feet  which  was  too 
wide  for  them  to  leap.  So  Ozma  took  a  small 
square  of  green  cloth  from  her  pocket  and  threw  it 
upon  the  ground.  At  once  it  became  the  magic 
carpet,  and  unrolled  itself  far  enough  for  all  the 
cavalcade  to  walk  upon.  The  chariot  now  ad- 
vanced, and  the  green  carpet  unrolled  before  it, 
crossing  the  gulf  on  a  level  with  its  banks,  so  that 
all  passed  over  in  safety. 

"That's  easy  enough,"  said  the  Scarecrow. 
"I  wonder  what  will  happen  next." 

He  was  not  long  in  making  the  discovery,  for  the 
sides  of  the  mountain  came  closer  together  until 
finally  there  was  but  a  narrow  path  between  them, 
along  which  Ozma  and  her  party  were  forced  to 
pass  in  single  file 

They  now  heard  a  low  and  deep  "thump! — 
thump! — thump!"  which  echoed  throughout  the 
valley  and  seemed  to  grow  louder  as  they  advanced. 
Then,  turning  a  corner  of  rock,  they  saw  before 
them  a  huge  form,  which  towered  above  the  path 
for  more  than  a  hundred  feet.  The  form  was  that 
of  a  gigantic  man  built  out  of  plates  of  cast  iron, 

134 


The  Giant  With  the  Hammer 

and  it  stood  with  one  foot  on  either  side  of  the 
narrow  road  and  swung  over  its  right  shoulder  an 
immense  iron  mallet,  with  which  it  constantly 
pounded  the  earth.  These  resounding  blows  ex- 
plained the  thumping  sounds  they  had  heard,  for 
the  mallet  was  much  bigger  than  a  barrel,  and 
where  it  struck  the  path  between  the  rocky  sides  of 
the  mountain  it  filled  all  the  space  through  which 
our  travelers  would  be  obliged  to  pass. 

Of  course  they  at  once  halted,  a  safe  distance 
away  from  the  terrible  iron  mallet.  The  magic 
carpet  would  do  them  no  good  in  this  case,  for  it 
was  only  meant  to  protect  them  from  any  dangers 
upon  the  ground  beneath  their  feet,  and  not  from 
dangers  that  appeared  in  the  air  above  them. 

"Wow!**  said  the  Cowardly  Lion, with  a  shudder. 
"It  makes  me  dreadfully  nervous  to  see  that  big 
hammer  pounding  so  near  my  head.  One  blow 
would  crush  me  into  a  door-mat." 

"The  ir-on  gi-ant  is  a  fine  fel-low,"  said  Tiktok, 
"and  works  as  stead-i-ly  as  a  clock.  He  was  made 
for  the  Nome  King  by  Smith  &  Tin-ker,  who  made 
me,  and  his  du-ty  is  to  keep  folks  from  find-ing  the 
un-der-ground  pal-ace.  Is  he  not  a  great  work  of 
art?** 

"Can  he  think,  and  speak,  as  you    do?*'    asked 

135 


Ozma        of        Oz 

Ozma,  regarding    the  giant   with   wondering    eyes. 

"No,"  replied  the  machine;  "he  is  on-ly  made  to 
pound  the  road,  and  has  no  think-ing  or  speak-ing 
at-tach-ment.      But  he  pounds  ve-ry  well,  I  think," 

"Too  well,"  observed  the  Scarecrow.  "He  is 
keeping  us  from  going  farther.  Is  there  no  way  to 
stop  his  machinery?" 

"On-ly  the  Nome  King,  who  has  the  key,  can  do 
that,"  answered  Tiktok. 

"Then,"  said  Dorothy,  anxiously,  "what  shall  we 
do?" 

"Excuse  me  for  a  few  minutes,"  said  the  Scare- 
crow, "and  I  will  think  it  over." 

He  retired,  then,  to  a  position  in  the  rear,  where 
he  turned  his  painted  face  to  the  rocks  and  began 
to  think. 

Meantime  the  giant  continued  to  raise  his  iron 
mallet  high  in  the  air  and  to  strike  the  path  terrific 
blows  that  echoed  through  the  mountains  like  the 
roar  of  a  cannon.  Each  time  the  mallet  lifted, 
however,  there  was  a  moment  when  the  path  be- 
neath the  monster  was  free,  and  perhaps  the  Scare- 
crow had  noticed  this,  for  when  he  came  back  to 
the  others  he  said: 

"  The  matter  is  a  very  simple  one,  after  all.  We 
have  but  to  run  under  the  hammer,  one  at  a  time, 

136 


THE  TIGER  WENT  NEXT 


Ozma        of        Oz 

when  it  is  lifted,  and  pass  to  the  other  side  before 
it  falls  again." 

"It  will  require  quick  work,  if  we  escape  the 
blow,''  said  the  Tin  Woodman,  with  a  shake  of  his 
head.  "But  it  really  seems  the  only  thing  to  be 
done.      Who  will  make  the  first  attempt?'* 

They  looked  at  one  another  hesitatingly  for  a 
moment.  Then  the  Cowardly  Lion,  who  was 
trembling  like  a  leaf  in  the  wind,  said  to  them: 

"I  suppose  the  head  of  the  procession  must  go 
first — and  that's  me.  But  I'm  terribly  afraid  of 
the  big  hammer!" 

"What  will  become  of  me?"  asked  Ozma.  "You 
might  rush  under  the  hammer  yourself,  but  the 
chariot  would  surely  be  crushed." 

"We  must  leave  the  chariot,"  said  the  Scarecrow. 
"  But  you  two  girls  can  ride  upon  the  backs  of  the 
Lion  and  the  Tiger." 

So  this  was  decided  upon,  and  Ozma,  as  soon  as 
the  Lion  was  unfastened  from  the  chariot,  at  once 
mounted  the  beast's  back  and  said  she  was  ready. 

"  Cling  fast  to  his  mane,"  advised  Dorothy.      "  I 

used  to  ride  him  myself,  and  that's  the  way  I   held 

»> 
on. 

So  Ozma  clung  fast  to  the    mane,  and   the   lion 

crouched  in  the  path  and  eyed  the  swinging  mallet 

138 


The  Giant  With  the  Hammer 

carefully  until  he  knew  just  the  instant  it  would 
begin  to  rise  in  the  air. 

<<Then,  before  anyone  thought  he  was  ready,  he 
made  a  sudden  leap  straight  between  the  iron  giant's 
legs,  and  before  the  mallet  struck  the  ground  again 
the  Lion  and  Ozma  were  safe  on  the  other  side. 

The  Tiger  went  next.  Dorothy  sat  upon  his 
back  and  locked  her  arms  around  his  striped  neck, 
for  he  had  no  mane  to  cling  to.  He  made  the  leap 
straight  and  true  as  an  arrow  from  a  bow,  and  ere 
Dorothy  realized  it  she  was  out  of  danger  and 
standing  by  Ozma's  side. 

Now  came  the  Scarecrow  on  the  Sawhorse,  and 
while  they  made  the  dash  in  safety  they  were  within 
a  hair's  breadth  of  being  caught  by  the  descending 
hammer. 

Tiktok  walked  up  to  the  very  edge  of  the  spot 
the  hammer  struck,  and  as  it  was  raised  for  the  next 
blow  he  calmly  stepped  forward  and  escaped  its 
descent.  That  was  an  idea  for  the  Tin  Woodman 
to  follow,  and  he  also  crossed  in  safety  while  the 
great  hammer  was  in  the  air.  But  when  it  came 
to  the  twenty-six  officers  and  the  private,  their  knees 
were  so  weak  that  they  could  not  walk  a  step. 

"In  battle  we  are  wonderfully  courageous,'*  said 
one   of  the   generals,  "and   our  foes    find  us  very 

139 


Ozma        of        Oz 

terrible  to  face.  But  war  is  one  thing  and  this  is 
another.  When  it  comes  to  being  pounded  upon 
the  head  by  an  iron  hammer,  and  smashed  into  pan- 
cakes, we  naturally  object." 

"Make  a  run  for  it/'  urged  the  Scarecrow. 

"Our  knees  shake  so  that  we  cannot  run,"  an- 
swered a  captain.  "If  we  should  try  it  we  would 
all  certainly  be  pounded  to  a  jelly.'* 

"Well,  well,"  sighed  the  Cowardly  Lion,  "I  see, 
friend  Tiger,  that  we  must  place  ourselves  in  great 
danger  to  rescue  this  bold  army.  Come  with  me, 
and  we  will  do  the  best  we  can." 

So,  Ozma  and  Dorothy  having  already  dismounted 
from  their  backs,  the  Lion  and  the  Tiger  leaped 
back  again  under  the  awful  hammer  and  returned 
with  two  generals  clinging  to  their  necks.  They 
repeated  this  daring  passage  twelve  times,  when  all 
the  officers  had  been  carried  beneath  the  giant's 
legs  and  landed  safely  on  the  further  side.  By  that 
time  the  beasts  were  very  tired,  and  panted  so  hard 
that  their  tongues  hung  out  of  their  great  mouths. 

"But  what  is  to  become  of  the  private?"  asked 
Ozma. 

"Oh,  leave  him  there  to  guard  the  chariot,"  said 
the  Lion.  "Fm  tired  out,  and  won't  pass  under 
that  mallet  agaiJiiT 

140 


r 


\^^^^ 


.-lit 
Hi' 


-4-: 


.^^ 


>><k 


'I'         -sN 


v^>s'sh 


>>/s: 


\ 


r 


t                                            ^  "^^^^^HI^^^H 

6"^^  ^ 

THE  WOODEN  HORSE  WAS  CARELESS 


Ozma        of       Oz 

The  officers  at  once  protested  that  they  must 
have  the  private  w^ith  them,  else  there  would  be  no 
one  for  them  to  command.  But  neither  the  Lion 
or  the  Tiger  vv^ould  go  after  him,  and  so  the  Scare- 
crow sent  the  Sawhorse. 

Either  the  wooden  horse  was  careless,  or  it  failed 
to  properly  time  the  descent  of  the  hammer,  for 
the  mighty  weapon  caught  it  squarely  upon  its 
head,  and  thumped  it  against  the  ground  so  power- 
fully that  the  private  flew  oiF  its  back  high  into  the 
air,  and  landed  upon  one  of  the  giant's  cast-iron 
arms.  Here  he  clung  desperately  while  the  arm 
rose  and  fell  with  each  one  of  the  rapid  strokes. 

The  Scarecrow  dashed  in  to  rescue  his  Saw- 
horse,  and  had  his  left  foot  smashed  by  the  hammer 
before  he  could  pull  the  creature  out  of  danger. 
They  then  found  that  the  Sawhorse  had  been  badly 
dazed  by  the  blow;  for  while  the  hard  wooden  knot 
of  which  his  head  was  formed  could  not  be  crushed 
by  the  hammer,  both  his  ears  were  broken  oiF  and 
he  would  be  unable  to  hear  a  sound  until  some  new 
ones  were  made  for  him.  Also  his  left  knee  was 
cracked,  and  had  to  be  bound  up  with  a  string. 

Billina  having  fluttered  under  the  hammer,  it  now 
remained  only  to  rescue  the  private  who  was  riding 
upon  the  iron  giant's  arm,  high  in  the  air. 

142 


The  Giant  With  the  Hammer 


The  Scarecrow  lay  flat  upon  the  ground  and 
called  to  the  man  to  jump  down  upon  his  body, 
which  was  soft  because  it  was  stuiFed  with  straw. 
This  the  private  managed  to  do,  waiting  until  a 
time  when  he  was  nearest  the  ground  and  then  let- 
ting himself  drop  upon  the  Scarecrow.  He  accom- 
plished the  feat  without  breaking  any  bones,  and  the 
Scarecrow  declared  he  was  not  injured  in  the  least. 

Therefore,  the  Tin  Woodman  having  by  this 
time  fitted  new  ears  to  the  Sawhorse,  the  entire 
party  proceeded  upon  its  way,  leaving  the  giant  to 
pound  the  path  behind  them. 


143 


z?. 


and     by,     when     they 
drew  near  to  the  moun- 
tain that  blocked  their  path 
and  which  was  the  further- 
most edge  of  the  Kingdom  of 
Ev,    the    way    grew    dark    and 
gloomy  for  the  reason  that  the  high 
peaks  on  either  side   shut  out   the 
sunshine.      And  it  was  very  silent,  too, 
as  there  were  no  birds  to  sing  or  squirrels 
to  chatter,  the  trees  being  left  far  behind 
them  and  only  the  bare  rocks   remaining. 

Ozma  and  Dorothy  were  a  little  awed  by 
the  silence,  and  all  the  others  were  quiet  and 
grave  except  the  Sawhorse,  which,  as  it  trotted 
along  with  the  Scarecrow  upon  his  back,  hummed 
a  queer  song,  of  which,  this  was  the  chorus : 

144 


The     Nome     King 

"Would  a  wooden  horse  in  a  woodland  go? 
Aye,  aye !   I  sigh,  he  would,  although 
Had  he  not  had  a  wooden  head 

He'd  mount  the  mountain  top  instead.** 

But  no  one  paid  any  attention  to  this  because 
they  were  now  close  to  the  Nome  King's  dominions, 
and  his  splendid  underground  palace  could  not  be 
very  far  away. 

Suddenly  they  heard  a  shout  of  jeering  laughter, 
and  stopped  short.  They  would  have  to  stop  in  a 
minute,  anyway,  for  the  huge  mountain  barred  their 
further  progress  and  the  path  ran  close  up  to  a  wall 
of  rock  and  ended. 

"Who  was  that  laughing?**  asked  Ozma. 

There  was  no  reply,  but  in  the  gloom  they  could 
see  strange  forms  flit  across  the  face  of  the  rock. 
Whatever  the  creations  might  be  they  seemed  very  like 
the  rock  itself,  for  they  were  the  color  of  rocks  and 
their  shapes  were  as  rough  and  rugged  as  if  they  had 
been  broken  away  from  the  side  of  the  mountain. 
They  kept  close  to  the  steep  cliff  facing  our  friends, 
and  glided  up  and  down,  and  this  way  and  that,  with  a 
lack  of  regularity  that  was  quite  confusing.  And 
they  seemed  not  to  need  places  to  rest  their  feet, 
but  clung  to  the  surface  of  the  rock  as  a  fly  does  to 
a  window-pane,  and  were  never  still  for  a  moment. 

145 


Ozma        of        Oz 

"Do  not  mind  them,"  said  Tiktok,  as  Dorothy- 
shrank  back.      "They  are  on-ly  the  Nomes.'* 

"And  what  are  Nomes?"  asked  the  girl,  half 
frightened. 

"They  are  rock  fair-ies,  and  serve  the  Nome 
King,'*  replied  the  machine.  "But  they  will  do  us 
no  harm.  You  must  call  for  the  King,  be-cause 
with-out  him  you  can  ne-ver  find  the  en-trance  to 
the  pal-ace." 

^'You  call,"  said  Dorothy  to  Ozma. 

Just  then  the  Nomes  laughed  again,  and  the  sound 
was  so  wierd  and  disheartening  that  the  twenty-six 
officers  commanded  the  private  to  "right-about- 
face!"  and  they  all  started  to  run  as  fast  as  they 
could. 

The  Tin  Woodman  at  once  pursued  his  army 
and  cried  "halt!"  and  when  they  had  stopped  their 
flight  he  asked:      "Where  are  you  going?" 

"I — I  find  Tve  forgotten  the  brush  for  my 
whiskers,"  said  a  general,  trembling  with  fear.  "  S-s-so 
we  are  g-going  back  after  it!" 

"That  is  impossible,"  replied  the  Tin  Woodman. 
"For  the  giant  with  the  hammer  would  kill  you  all 
if  you  tried  to  pass  him." 

"Oh!  rd  forgotten  the  giant,"  said  the  general, 
turning  pale. 

146 


The     Nome     King 

"You  seem  to  forget  a  good  many  things/'  re- 
marked the  Tin  Woodman.  "I  hope  you  won't 
forget  that  you  are  brave  men." 

"  Never  1*'  cried  the  general,  slapping  his  gold- 
embroidered  chest. 

"Never!"  cried  all  the  other  officers,  indignantly 
slapping  their  chests. 

"For  my  part,"  said  the  private,  meekly,  "I  must 
obey  my  officers;  so  when  I  am  told  to  run,  I  run; 
and  when  I  am  told  to  fight,  I  fight." 

"That  is  right,"  agreed  the  Tin  Woodman.  "And 
now  you  must  all  come  back  to  Ozma,  and  obey 
her  orders.  And  if  you  try  to  run  away  again  I 
will  have  her  reduce  all  the  twenty-six  officers  to 
privates,  and  make  the  private  your  general." 

This  terrible  threat  so  frightened  them  that  they 
at  once  returned  to  where  Ozma  was  standing  be- 
side the  Cowardly  Lion. 

Then  Ozma  cried  out  in  a  loud  voice: 

"I  demand  that  the  Nome  King  appear  to  us!" 

There  was  no  reply,  except  that  the  shifting 
Nomes  upon  the  mountain  laughed  in  derision. 

"You  must  not  command  the  Nome  King,"  said 
Tiktok,  "for  you  do  not  rule  him,  as  you  do  your 
own  peo-ple." 

So  Ozma  called  again,  saying: 

147 


ONLY  THE  MOCKING  LAUGHTER  REPLIED  TO  HER 


The     Nome     King 

«I  request  the  Nome  King  to  appear  to  us/* 

Only  the  mocking  laughter  replied  to  her,  and 
the  shadowy  Nomes  continued  to  ftit  here  and  there 
upon  the  rocky  cliff. 

"Try  en-treat-y,"  said  Tiktok  to  Ozma.  <<Ifhe 
will  not  come  at  your  re-quest,  then  the  Nome 
King  may  list-en  to  your  plead-ing." 

Ozma  looked  around  her  proudly. 

"Do  you  wish  your  ruler  to  plead  with  this 
wicked  Nome  King?"  she  asked.  "Shall  Ozma  of 
Oz  humble  herself  to  a  creature  who  lives  in  an 
underground  kingdom?*' 

"No!**  they  all  shouted,  with  big  voices;  and  the 
Scarecrow  added: 

"If  he  will  not  come,  we  will  dig  him  out  of  his 
hole,  like  a  fox,  and  conquer  his  stubbornness.  But 
our  sweet  little  ruler  must  always  maintain  her  dig- 
nity, just  as  I  maintain  mine.*' 

"I'm  not  afraid  to  plead  with  him,**  said  Dorothy. 
"Tm  only  a  little  girl  from  Kansas,  and  we've  got 
more  dignity  at  home  than  we  know  what  to  do 
with,      ril  call  the  Nome  King." 

"Do,**  said  the  Hungry  Tiger;  "and  if  he  makes 
hash  of  you  I'll  willingly  eat  you  for  breakfast  to- 
morrow morning.*' 

So  Dorothy  stepped  forward  and  said: 

149 


o 


m 


o 


f    o 


^^  Please  Mr.  Nome  King,  come  here  and  see  us.*' 
The   Nomes   started   to   laugh  again;  but    a   low 
growl  came  from  the  mountain,  and  in  a  flash  they 
had  all  vanished  from  sight  and  were  silent. 

Then  a  door  in  the   rock   opened,  and   a  voice 
cried : 


"Enter!" 

« Isn't  it  a  trick?"  asked  the  Tin  Woodman. 

"Never  mind,"  replied  Ozma.  "We  came  here 
to  rescue  the  poor  Queen  of  Ev  and  her  ten  chil- 
dren, and  we  must  run  some  risks  to  do  so." 

"  The  Nome  King  is  hon-est  and  good  na-tured," 

150 


The      Nome      King 

said  Tiktok.  "You  can  trust  him  to  do  what  is 
right." 

So  Ozma  led  the  way,  hand  in  hand  with  Doro- 
thy, and  they  passed  through  the  arched  doorway 
of  rock  and  entered  a  long  passage  which  was  Hghted 
by  jewels  set  in  the  walls  and  having  lamps  behind 
them.  There  was  no  one  to  escort  them,  or  to 
show  them  the  way,  but  all  the  party  pressed  through 
the  passage  until  they  came  to  a  round,  domed 
cavern  that  was  grandly  furnished. 

In  the  center  of  this  room  was  a  throne  carved 
out  of  a  solid  boulder  of  rock,  rude  and  rugged  in 
shape  but  glittering  with  great  rubies  and  diamonds 
and  emeralds  on  every  part  of  its  surface.  And  upon 
the  throne  sat  the  Nome  King. 

This  important  monarch  of  the  Underground 
World  was  a  little  fat  man  clothed  in  gray-brown 
garments  that  were  the  exact  color  of  the  rock 
throne  in  which  he  was  seated.  His  bushy  hair 
and  flowing  beard  were  also  colored  like  the  rocks, 
and  so  was  his  face.  He  wore  no  crown  of  any 
sort,  and  his  only  ornament  was  a  broad,  jewel- 
studded  belt  that  encircled  his  fat  little  body.  As  for 
his  features,  they  seemed  kindly  and  good  humored, 
and  his  eyes  were  turned  merrily  upon  his  visitors 
as  Ozma  and  Dorothy  stood  before  him  with  their 

151 


Ozma        of        Oz 

followers  ranged  in  close  order  behind  them. 

"Why,  he  looks  just  like  Santa  Claus — only  he 
isn't  the  same  color!"  whispered  Dorothy  to  her 
friend;  but  the  Nome  King  heard  the  speech,  and 
it  made  him  laugh  aloud. 

"  *  He  had  a  red  face  and  a  round  little  belly 

That  shook  when  he  laughed  like  a  bowl  full  of  jelly ! ' " 

quoth  the  monarch,  in  a  pleasant  voice;  and  they 
could  all  see  that  he  really  did  shake  like  jelly  when 
he  laughed. 

Both  Ozma  and  Dorothy  were  much  relieved  to 
find  the  Nome  King  so  jolly,  and  a  minute  later  he 
waved  his  right  hand  and  the  girls  each  found  a 
cushioned  stool  at  her  side. 

"Sit  down,  my  dears,"  said  the  King,  "and  tell 
me  why  you  have  come  all  this  way  to  see  me,  and 
what  I  can  do  to  make  you  happy." 

While  they  seated  themselves  the  Nome  King 
picked  up  a  pipe,  and  taking  a  glowing  red  coal 
out  of  his  pocket  he  placed  it  in  the  bowl  of  the 
pipe  and  began  puffing  out  clouds  of  smoke  that 
curled  in  rings  above  his  head.  Dorothy  thought 
this  made  the  little  monarch  look  more  like  Santa 
Claus  than  ever;  but  Ozma  now  began  speaking, 
and  every  one  listened  intently  to  her  words* 

152 


Th 


N 


o  m  e 


K 


1  n  g 


"Your  Majesty,"  said  she,  "I  am  the  ruler  of  the 
Land  of  Oz,  and  I  have  come  here  to  ask  you  to  re- 
lease the  good  Queen  of  Ev  and  her  ten  children, 
whom  you  have  enchanted  and  hold  as  your  prisoners." 

"Oh,  no;  you  are  mistaken  about  that,"  replied 


the  King.  "They  are  not  my  prisoners,  but  my 
slaves,  whom  I  purchased  from  the  King  of  Ev." 

"But  that  was  wrong,"  said  Ozma. 

"According  to  the  laws  of  Ev,  the  king  can  do 
no  wrong,"  answered  the  monarch,  eyeing  a  ring  of 
smoke  he  had  just  blown  from  his  mouth;  "so  that 

153 


Ozma        of        Oz 

he  had  a  perfect  right  to  sell  his  family  to  me  in 
exchange  for  a  long  life." 

"You  cheated  him,  though,"  declared  Dorothy; 
"for  the  King  of  Ev  did  not  have  a  long  life.  He 
jumped  into  the  sea  and  was  drowned." 

"That  was  not  my  fault,"  said  the  Nome  King, 
crossing  his  legs  and  smiling  contentedly.  "I  gave 
him  the  long  life,  all  right;  but  he  destroyed  it." 

"Then  how  could  it  be  a  long  life?"  asked 
Dorothy. 

"Easily  enough,"  was  the  reply.  "Now  suppose, 
my  dear,  that  I  gave  you  a  pretty  doll  in  exchange 
for  a  lock  of  your  hair,  and  that  after  you  had  re- 
ceived the  doll  you  smashed  it  into  pieces  and  de- 
stroyed it.  Could  you  say  that  I  had  not  given 
you  a  pretty  doll?" 

"  No,"  answered  Dorothy. 

"And  could  you,  in  fairness,  ask  me  to  return  to 
you  the  lock  ot  hair,  just  because  you  had  smashed 
the  doll?" 

"No,"  said  Dorothy,  again. 

"  Of  course  not,"  the  Nome  King  returned.  "  Nor 
will  I  give  up  the  Queen  and  her  children  because 
the  King  of  Ev  destroyed  his  long  life  by  jumping 
into  the  sea.  They  belong  to  me  and  I  shall  keep 
them." 

154 


THEY  BELONG  TO  ME  AND  I  SHALL  KEEP  THEM" 


Ozma        of       Oz 

"But  you  are  treating  them  cruelly,**  said  Ozma, 
who  was  much  distressed  by  the  King's  refusal. 

"In  what  way?*'  he  asked. 

"  By  making  them  your  slaves,"  said  she. 

"Cruelty,**  remarked  the  monarch,  puffing  out 
wreathes  of  smoke  and  watching  them  float  into 
the  air, "is  a  thing  I  can*t  abide.  So,  as  slaves  must 
work  hard,  and  the  Queen  of  Ev  and  her  children 
were  delicate  and  tender,  I  transformed  them  all 
into  articles  of  ornament  and  bric-a-brac  and 
scattered  them  around  the  various  rooms  of  my 
palace.  Instead  of  being  obliged  to  labor,  they 
merely  decorate  my  apartments,  and  I  really  think 
I  have  treated  them  with  great  kindness.'* 

"But  what  a  dreadful  fate  is  theirs!*'  exclaimed 
Ozma,  earnestly.  "And  the  Kingdom  of  Ev  is  in 
great  need  of  its  royal  family  to  govern  it.  If  you 
will  liberate  them,  and  restore  them  to  their  proper 
forms,  I  will  give  you  ten  ornaments  to  replace  each 
one  you  lose.** 

The  Nome  King  looked  grave. 

"Suppose  I  refuse?**  he  asked. 

"Then,**  said  Ozma,  firmly,  "I  am  here  with  my 
friends  and  my  army  to  conquer  your  kingdom  and 
oblige  you  to  obey  my  wishes." 

The  Nome  King  laughed  until  he  choked;  and 

156 


The      Nome     King 

he  choked  until  he  coughed;  and  he  coughed  until 
his  face  turned  from  grayish-brown  to  bright  red. 
And  then  he  wiped  his  eyes  with  a  rock-colored 
handkerchief  and  grew  grave  again. 

"You  are  as  brave  as  you  are  pretty,  my  dear," 
he  said  to  Ozma.  «  But  you  have  little  idea  of  the 
extent  of  the  task  you  have  undertaken.  Come 
with  me  for  a  moment." 

He  arose  and  took  Ozma's  hand,  leading  her  to 
a  little  door  at  one  side  of  the  room.  This  he 
opened  and  they  stepped  out  upon  a  balcony,  from 
whence  they  obtained  a  wonderful  view  of  the 
Underground  World. 

A  vast  cave  extended  for  miles  and  miles  under 
the  mountain,  and  in  every  direction  were  furnaces 
and  forges  glowing  brightly  and  Nomes  hammering 
upon  precious  metals  or  polishing  gleaming  jewels. 
All  around  the  walls  of  the  cave  were  thousands  of 
doors  of  silver  and  gold,  built  into  the  solid  rock, 
and  these  extended  in  rows  far  away  into  the  dis- 
tance, as  far  as  Ozma's  eyes  could  follow  them. 

While  the  little  maid  from  Oz  gazed  wonderingly 
upon  this  scene  the  Nome  King  uttered  a  shrill 
whistle,  and  at  once  all  the  silver  and  gold  doors 
flew  open  and  solid  ranks  of  Nome  soldiers  marched 
out  from  every  one.      So  great  were  their  numbers 

157 


Ozma        of        Oz 

that  they  quickly  filled  the  immense  underground 
cavern  and  forced  the  busy  workmen  to  abandon 
their  tasks. 

Although  this  tremendous  army  consisted  of  rock- 
colored  Nomes,  all  squat  and  fat,  they  were  clothed 
in  glittering  armor  of  polished  steel,  inlaid  with 
beautiful  gems.  Upon  his  brow  each  wore  a  brilliant 
electric  light,  and  they  bore  sharp  spears  and  swords 
and  battle-axes  of  solid  bronze.  It  was  evident  they 
were  perfectly  trained,  for  they  stood  in  straight 
rows,  rank  after  rank,  with  their  weapons  held  erect 
and  true,  as  if  awaiting  but  the  word  of  command 
to  level  them  upon  their  foes. 

"This,"  said  the  Nome  King,  "is  but  a  small 
part  of  my  army.  No  ruler  upon  Earth  has  ever 
dared  to  fight  me,  and  no  ruler  ever  will,  for  I  am 
too  powerful  to  oppose." 

He  whistled  again,  and  at  once  the  martial  array 
filed  through  the  silver  and  gold  doorways  and  dis- 
appeared, after  which  the  workmen  again  resumed 
their  labors  at  the  furnaces. 

Then,  sad  and  discouraged,  Ozma  of  Oz  turned 
to  her  friends,  and  the  Nome  King  calmly  reseated 
himself  on  his  rock  throne. 

"It  would  be  foolish  for  us  to  fight,'*  the  girl  said 
to  the  Tin  Woodman.      "  For  our  brave  Twenty- 

158 


"THIS  IS  BUT  A  SMALL  PART  OF  MY  ARMY' 


Ozma        of        Oz 

Seven  would  be  quickly  destroyed.  Tm  sure  I  do 
not  know  how  to  act  in  this  emergency. 

"Ask  the  King  where  his  kitchen  is,"  suggested 
the  Tiger.      "Tm  hungry  as  a  bear." 

«I  might  pounce  upon  the  King  and  tear  him  in 
pieces,**  remarked  the  Cowardly  Lion. 

"Try  it,"  said  the  monarch,  lighting  his  pipe  with 
another  hot  coal  which  he  took  from  his  pocket. 

The  Lion  crouched  low  and  tried  to  spring  upon 
the  Nome  King;  but  he  hopped  only  a  little  way 
into  the  air  and  came  down  again  in  the  same  place, 
not  being  able  to  approach  the  throne  by  even  an 
inch. 

"It  seems  to  me,'*  said  the  Scarecrow,  thought- 
fully, "that  our  best  plan  is  to  wheedle  his  Majesty 
into  giving  up  his  slaves,  since  he  is  too  great  a 
magician  to  oppose.** 

"This  is  the  most  sensible  thing  any  of  you  have 
suggested,**  declared  the  Nome  King.  "It  is  folly 
to  threaten  me,  but  Tm  so  kind-hearted  that  I  can- 
not stand  coaxing  or  wheedling.  If  you  really  wish 
to  accomplish  anything  by  your  journey,  my  dear 
Ozma,  you  must  coax  me.** 

"Very  well,'*  said  Ozma,  more  cheerfully.  "Let 
us  be  friends,  and  talk  this  over  in  a  friendly 
manner." 

160 


The     Nome     King 

"To  be  sure,"  agreed  the  King,  his  eyes  twinkling 
merrily. 

"I  am  very  anxious/*  she  continued,  "to  liberate 
the  Queen  of  Ev  and  her  children  who  are  now 
ornaments  and  bric-a-brac  in  your  Majesty's  palace, 
and  to  restore  them  to  their  people.  Tell  me,  sir, 
how  this  may  be  accomplished.'* 

The  king  remained  thoughtful  for  a  moment,  after 
which  he  asked: 

"Are  you  willing  to  take  a  few  chances  and  risks 
yourself,  in  order  to  set  free  the  people  of  Ev?" 

"Yes,  indeed!"  answered  Ozma,  eagerly. 

"Then,"  said  the  Nome  King,  "I  will  make  you 
this  offer:  You  shall  go  alone  and  unattended  into 
my  palace  and  examine  carefully  all  that  the  rooms 
contain.  Then  you  shall  have  permission  to  touch 
eleven  different  objects,  pronouncing  at  the  time 
the  word  <Ev,'  and  if  any  one  of  them,  or  more  than 
one,  proves  to  be  the  transformation  of  the  Queen 
of  Ev  or  any  of  her  ten  children,  then  they  will  in- 
stantly be  restored  to  their  true  forms  and  may  leave 
my  palace  and  my  kingdom  in  your  company,  with- 
out any  objection  whatever.  It  is  possible  for  you, 
in  this  way,  to  free  the  entire  eleven;  but  if  you  do 
not  guess  all  the  objects  correctly,  and  some  of  the 
slaves  remain  transformed,  then  each  one  of  your 

161 


o 


m 


o 


f     o 


friends  and  followers  may,  in  turn,  enter  the  palace 
and  have  the  same  privileges  I  grant  you/' 

«Oh,  thank  you!  thank  you  for  this  kind  offer!** 
said  Ozma,  eagerly. 

"I  make  but  one  condition,**  added  the  Nome 
King,  his  eyes  twinkling. 

"What  is  it?'*  she  enquired. 

"If  none  of  the  eleven  objects  you  touch  proves 
to  be  the  transformation  of  any  of  the  royal  family 
of  Ev,  then,  instead  of  freeing  them,  you  will  your- 
self become  enchanted,  and  transformed  into  an 
article  of  bric-a-brac  or  an  ornament.  This  is  only 
fair  and  just,  and  is  the  risk  you  declared  you  were 
willing  to  take.** 


162 


Tha  Deven 


V7i7 
U 


iJ,0 


this    condition  imposed 
by  the  Nome  King,Ozma 
became  silent  and  thought- 
ful, and  all  her  friends  looked 
at  her  uneasily. 

"Don't  you  do  it!"  exclaimed 
Dorothy.      <<If  you  guess  wrong, 
you  will  be  enslaved  yourself.*' 

"But  I  shall  have  eleven   guesses," 
answered  Ozma.      "Surely  I   ought  to 
guess  one  object  in  eleven  correctly;  and, 
if  I   do,  I    shall    rescue    one   of  the   royal 
family  and  be  safe  myself.      Then  the  rest  of 
you  may  attempt  it,  and  soon  we  shall  free  all 
those  who  are  enslaved." 

"What  if  we  fail  ?"  enquired  the  Scarecrow.    "  I'd 

163 


Ozma        of        Oz 

look  nice  as  a  piece   of  bric-a-brac,   wouldn't   I?" 

"We  must  not  fail  I"  cried  Ozma,  courageously. 
"Having  come  all  this  distance  to  free  these  poor 
people,  it  would  be  weak  and  cowardly  in  us  to 
abandon  the  adventure.  Therefore  I  will  accept 
the  Nome  King's  offer,  and  go  at  once  into  the 
royal  palace.'* 

"Come  along,  then,  my  dear,"  said  the  King, 
climbing  down  from  his  throne  with  some  difficulty, 
because  he  was   so   fat;    "I'll  show  you  the  way." 

He  approached  a  wall  of  the  cave  and  waved  his 
hand.  Instantly  an  opening  appeared,  through 
which  Ozma,  after  a  smiling  farewell  to  her  friends, 
boldly  passed. 

She  found  herself  in  a  splendid  hall  that  was  more 
beautiful  and  grand  than  anything  she  had  ever  be- 
held. The  ceilings  were  composed  of  great  arches 
that  rose  far  above  her  head,  and  all  the  walls  and 
floors  were  of  polished  marble  exquisitely  tinted  in 
many  colors.  Thick  velvet  carpets  were  on  the 
floor  and  heavy  silken  draperies  covered  the  arches 
leading  to  the  various  rooms  of  the  palace.  The 
furniture  was  made  of  rare  old  woods  richly  carved 
and  covered  with  delicate  satins,  and  the  entire  pal- 
ace was  lighted  by  a  mysterious  rosy  glow  that 
seemed  to  come  from  no  particular  place  but  flooded 

164 


The    Eleven    Guesses 

each  apartment  with  its  soft  and  pleasing  radiance. 

Ozma  passed  from  one  room  to  another,  greatly 
delighted  by  all  she  saw.  The  lovely  palace  had  no 
other  occupant,  for  the  Nome  King  had  left  her  at 
the  entrance,  which  closed  behind  her,  and  in  all 
the  magnificent  rooms  there  appeared  to  be  no 
other  person. 

Upon  the  mantels,  and  on  many  shelves  and 
brackets  and  tables,  were  clustered  ornaments  of 
every  description,  seemingly  made  out  of  all  sorts 
of  metals,  glass,  china,  stones  and  marbles.  There 
were  vases,  and  figures  of  men  and  animals,  and 
graven  platters  and  bowls,  and  mosaics  of  precious 
gems,  and  many  other  things.  Pictures,  too,  were 
on  the  walls,  and  the  underground  palace  was  quite 
a  museum  of  rare  and  curious  and  costly  objects. 

After  her  first  hasty  examination  of  the  rooms 
Ozma  began  to  wonder  which  of  all  the  numerous 
ornaments  they  contained  were  the  transformations 
of  the  royal  family  of  Ev.  There  was  nothing  to 
guide  her,  for  everything  seemed  without  a  spark  of 
life.  So  she  must  guess  blindly;  and  for  the  first 
time  the  girl  came  to  realize  how  dangerous  was 
her  task,  and  how  likely  she  was  to  lose  her  own 
freedom  in  striving  to  free  others  from  the  bondage 
of  the    Nome    King.      No    wonder    the    cunning 

165 


OZMA  SHUT  HER  EYES  TIGHTLY  AND  ADVANCED 


The    Eleven    Guesses 

monarch  laughed  good  naturedly  with  his  visitors, 
when  he  knew  how  easily  they  might  be  entrapped. 

But  Ozma,  having  undertaken  the  venture,  would 
not  abandon  it.  She  looked  at  a  silver  candelabra 
that  had  ten  branches,  and  thought:  "This  may 
be  the  Queen  of  Ev  and  her  ten  children."  So  she 
touched  it  and  uttered  aloud  the  word  "Ev,"  as  the 
Nome  King  had  instructed  her  to  do  when  she 
guessed.  But  the  candelabra  remained  as  it  was 
before. 

Then  she  wandered  into  another  room  and 
touched  a  china  lamb,  thinking  it  might  be  one  of 
the  children  she  sought.  But  again  she  was  un- 
successful. Three  guesses;  four  guesses;  five,  six, 
seven,  eight,  nine  and  ten  she  made,  and  still  not 
one  of  them  was  right! 

The  girl  shivered  a  little  and  grew  pale  even 
under  the  rosy  light;  for  now  but  one  guess  re-- 
mained,  and  her  own  fate  depended  upon  the  result. 

She  resolved  not  to  be  hasty,  and  strolled  through 
all  the  rooms  once  niore,  gazing  earnestly  upon  the 
various  ornaments  and  trying  to  decide  which  she 
would  touch.  Finally,  in  despair,  she  decided  to 
leave  it  entirely  to  chance.  She  faced  the  doorway 
of  a  room,  shut  her  eyes  tightly,  and  then,  thrusting 
aside  the  heavy  draperies,  she  advanced  blindly  with 

167 


Ozma        of        Oz 

her  right  arm  outstretched  before  her. 

Slowly  softly  she  crept  forward  until  her  hand 
came  in  contact  with  an  object  upon  a  small  round 
table.  She  did  not  know  what  it  was,  but  in  a 
low  voice  she  pronounced  the  word  «Ev.'* 

The  rooms  were  quite  empty  of  life  after  that. 
The  Nome  King  had  gained  a  new  ornament.  For 
upon  the  edge  of  the  table  rested  a  pretty  grass- 
hopper, that  seemed  to  have  been  formed  from  a 
single  emerald.  It  was  all  that  remained  of  Ozma 
of  Oz. 

In  the  throne  room  just  beyond  the  palace  the 
Nome  King  suddenly  looked  up  and  smiled, 

"Next!"  he  said,  in  his  pleasant  voice. 

Dorothy,  the  Scarecrow,  and  the  Tin  Woodman, 
who  had  been  sitting  in  anxious  silence,  each  gave 
a  start  of  dismay  and  stared  into  one  another's  eyes. 

"Has  she  failed?"  asked  Tiktok. 

"So  it  seems,"  answered  the  little  monarch, 
cheerfully.  "But  that  is  no  reason  one  of  you 
should  not  succeed.  The  next  may  have  twelve 
guesses,  instead  of  eleven,  for  there  are  now  twelve 
persons  transformed  into  ornaments.  Well,  well  I 
Which  of  you  goes  next?" 

"Til  go,"  said  Dorothy. 

" Not  so,"  replied  the  Tin  Woodman.     "As  com- 

16S 


The    Eleven    Guesses 

mander  of  Ozma*s  army,  it  is  my  privilege  to  follow 
her  and  attempt  her  rescue.** 

"Away  you  go,  then,**  said  the  Scarecrow.  "But 
be  careful,  old  friend.** 

"I  will,**  promised  the  Tin  Woodman;  and  then 
he  followed  the  Nome  King  to  the  entrance  to  the 
palace  and  the  rock  closed  behind  him. 


169 


omeKing  Laug 


o 


ilU 


a  moment  the  King  re- 
turned to  his  throne  and 
relighted   his  pipe,  and  the 
rest  of  the  little  band  of  ad- 
venturers settled  themselves  for 
another  long  wait.      They  were 
greatly  disheartened  by  the  failure 
of  their  girl  Ruler,  and  the  knowledge 
that  she  was  now  an  ornament  in  the 
Nome  King's  palace — a  dreadful,  creepy 
place    in    spite    of  all   its    magnificence. 
Without    their   little    leader   they  did  not 
know  what  to  do  next,  and  each  one,  down 
to    the    trembling  private  of  the  army,  began 
to  fear  he  would  soon  be  more  ornamental  than 
useful. 

170 


The  Nome  King  Laughs 

Suddenly  the  Nome  King  began  laughing. 

«Ha,  ha,  ha!    He,  he,  he!    Ho,  ho,  ho!" 

"What's  happened?**  asked  the  Scarecrow. 

"Why,  your  friend,  the  Tin  Woodman,  has  be- 
come the  funniest  thing  you  can  imagine,'*  replied 
the  King,  wiping  the  tears  of  merriment  from  his 
eyes.  "No  one  would  ever  believe  he  could  make 
such  an  amusing  ornament.      Next!** 

They  gazed  at  each  other  with  sinking  hearts. 
One  of  the  generals  began  to  weep  dolefully. 

"What  are  you  crying  for?"  asked  the  Scarecrow, 
indignant  at  such  a  display  of  weakness. 

"He  owed  me  six  weeks  back  pay,"  said  the  gen- 
eral, "and  I  hate  to  lose  h^'m." 

"Then  you  shall  go  and  find  him,'*  declared  the 
Scarecrow. 

"Me!**  cried  the  general,  greatly  alarmed. 

"Certainly.  It  is  your  duty  to  follow  your  com- 
mander.     March!** 

"I  won't,"  said  the  general.  "I'd  like  to,  of 
course;  but  I  just  simply  wont'' 

The  Scarecrow  looked  enouiringly  at  the  Nome 
King. 

"Never  mind,"  said  the  jolly  monarch.  "If  he 
doesn't  care  to  enter  the  palace  and  make  his 
guesses  I'll  throw  him  into  one  of  my  fiery  furnaces." 

171 


Ozma       of        Oz 

"Til  go! — of  course  Vm  going,*'  yelled  the  gen- 
eral, as  quick  as  scat.  "Where  is  the  entrance — 
where  is  it?      Let  me  go  at  once!'* 

So  the  Nome  King  escorted  him  into  the  palace, 
and  again  returned  to  await  the  result.  What  the 
general  did,  no  one  can  tell;  but  it  was  not  long 
before  the  King  called  for  the  next  victim,  and  a 
colonel  was  forced  to  try  his  fortune. 

Thus,  one  after  another,  all  of  the  twenty-six 
officers  filed  into  the  palace  and  made  their  guesses — 
and  became  ornaments. 

Meantime  the  King  ordered  refreshments  to  be 
served  to  those  waiting,  and  at  his  command  a  rudely 
shaped  Nome  entered,  bearing  a  tray.  This  Nome 
was  not  unlike  the  others  that  Dorothy  had  seen, 
but  he  wore  a  heavy  gold  chain  around  his  neck  to 
show  that  he  was  the  Chief  Steward  of  the  Nome 
King,  and  he  assumed  an  air  of  much  importance, 
and  even  told  his  majesty  not  to  eat  too  much  cake 
late  at  night,  or  he  would  be  ill. 

Dorothy,  however,  was  hungry,  and  she  was  not 
afraid  of  being  ill;  so  she  ate  several  cakes  and  found 
them  good,  and  also  she  drank  a  cup  of  excellent 
coffee  made  of  a  richly  flavored  clay,  browned  in  the 
furnaces  and  then  ground  fine,  and  found  it  most 
refreshing  and  not  at  all  muddy. 

172 


The  Nome  King  Laughs 

of  all  the  party  which  had  started  upon  this  ad- 
venture, the  little  Kansas  girl  was  now  left  alone 
with  the  Scarecrow,  Tiktok,  and  the  private  for 
counsellors  and  companions.  Of  course  the  Coward- 
ly Lion  and  the  Hungry  Tiger  were  still  there,  but 
they,  having  also  eaten  some  of  the  cakes,  had  gone 
to  sleep  at  one  side  of  the  cave,  while  upon  the 
other  side  stood  the  Sawhorse,  motionless  and  silent, 
as  became  a  mere  thing  of  wood.  Billina  had 
quietly  walked  around  and  picked  up  the  crumbs 
of  cake  which  had  been  scattered,  and  now,  as  it 
was  long  after  bed-time,  she  tried  to  find  some  dark 
place  in  which  to  go  to  sleep. 

Presently  the  hen  espied  a  hollow  underneath  the 
King's  rocky  throne,  and  crept  into  it  unnoticed. 
She  could  still  hear  the  chattering  of  those  around 
her,  but  it  was  almost  dark  underneath  the  throne, 
so  that  soon  she  had  fallen  fast  asleep. 

"Next!"  called  the  King,  and  the  private,  whose 
turn  it  was  to  enter  the  fatal  palace,  shook  hands 
with  Dorothy  and  the  Scarecrow  and  bade  them  a 
sorrowful  good-bye,  and  passed  through  the  rocky 
portal. 

They  waited  a  long  time,  for  the  private  was  in 
no  hurry  to  become  an  ornament  and  made  his 
guesses  very  slowly.      The  Nome  King,  who  seemed 

173 


Ozma        of        Oz 

to  know,  by  some  magical  power,  all  that  took 
place  in  his  beautiful  rooms  of  his  palace,  grew  im- 
patient finally  and  declared  he  would  sit  up  no  longer. 

"I  love  ornaments,"  said  he,  "but  I  can  wait  un- 
til tomorrow  to  get  more  of  them;  so,  as  soon  as 
that  stupid  private  is  transformed,  we  will  all  go  to 
bed  and  leave  the  job  to  be  finished  in  the  morning.** 

"Is  it  so  very  late?*'  asked  Dorothy. 

"Why,  it  is  after  midnight,'*  said  the  King,  "and 
that  strikes  me  as  being  late  enough.  There  is 
neither  night  nor  day  in  my  kingdom,  because  it  is 
under  the  earth*s  surface,  where  the  sun  does  not 
shine.  But  we  have  to  sleep,  just  the  same  as  the 
up-stairs  people  do,  and  for  my  part  Tm  going  to 
bed  in  a  few  minutes.** 

Indeed,  it  was  not  long  after  this  that  the  private 
made  his  last  guess.  Of  course  he  guessed  wrongly, 
and  of  course  he  at  once  became  an  ornament.  So 
the  King  was  greatly  pleased,  and  clapped  his  hands 
to  summon  his  Chief  Steward. 

"Show  these  guests  to  some  of  the  sleeping 
apartments,*'  he  commanded,  "and  be  quick  about 
it,  too,  for  I'm  dreadfully  sleepy  myself.** 

"You*ve  no  business  to  sit  up  so  late,*'  replied 
the  Steward,  gruffly.  "You'll  be  as  cross  as  a  grifiin 
tomorrow  morning.** 

174 


SOON  SHE  HAD  FALLEN  FAST  ASLEEP 


Ozma        of        Oz 

His  Majesty  made  no  answer  to  this  remark,  and 
the  Chief  Steward  led  Dorothy  through  another 
doorway  into  a  long  hall,  from  which  several  plain 
but  comfortable  sleeping  rooms  opened.  The  little 
girl  was  given  the  first  room,  and  the  Scarecrow  and 
Tiktok  the  next — although  they  never  slept — and 
the  Lion  and  the  Tiger  the  third.  The  Sawhorse 
hobbled  after  the  Steward  into  a  fourth  room,  to 
stand  stiffly  in  the  center  of  it  until  morning.  Each 
night  was  rather  a  bore  to  the  Scarecrow,  Tiktok 
and  the  Sawhorse;  but  they  had  learned  from  ex- 
perience to  pass  the  time  patiently  and  quietly,  since 
all  their  friends  who  were  made  of  flesh  had  to  sleep 
and  did  not  like  to  be  disturbed. 

When  the  Chief  Steward  had  left  them  alone  the 
Scarecrow  remarked,  sadly: 

"I  am  in  great  sorrow  over  the  loss  of  my  old 
comrade,  the  Tin  Woodman.  We  have  had  many 
dangerous  adventures  together,  and  escaped  them 
all,  and  now  it  grieves  me  to  know  he  has  become 
an  ornament,  and  is  lost  to  me  forever." 

"He  was  al-ways  an  or-na-ment  to  so-ci-e-ty," 
said  Tiktok. 

"True;  but  now  the  Nome  King  laughs  at  him, 
and  calls  him  the  funniest  ornament  in  all  the  pal- 
ace.     It    will   hurt  my    poor  friend's  pride  to    be 

176 


The  Nome  King  Laughs 

laughed    at,*'    continued    the    Scarecrow,    sadly. 

«  We  will  make  rath-er  ab-surd  or-na-ments,  our- 
selves, to-mor-row,"  observed  the  machine,  in  his 
monotonous  voice. 

Just  then  Dorothy  ran  into  their  room,  in  a  state 
of  great  anxiety,  crying: 

"Where's  Billina?  Have  you  seen  Billina?  Is 
she  here?" 

"No,"  answered  the  Scarecrow. 

"  Then  what  has  become  of  her  ? "  asked  the  girl. 

"Why,  I  thought  she  was  with  you,"  said  the 
Scarecrow.  "Yet  I  do  not  remember  seeing  the 
yellow  hen  since  she  picked  up  the  crumbs  of  cake." 

"W,e  must  have  left  her  in  the  room  where  the 
King's  throne  is,"  decided  Dorothy,  and  at  once  she 
turned  and  ran  down  the  hall  to  the  door  through 
which  they  had  entered.  But  it  was  fast  closed  and 
locked  on  the  other  side,  and  the  heavy  slab  of  rock 
proved  to  be  so  thick  that  no  sound  could  pass 
through  it.  So  Dorothy  was  forced  to  return  to 
her  chamber. 

The  Cowardly  Lion  stuck  his  head  into  her  room 
to  try  to  console  the  girl  for  the  loss  of  her  feathered 
friend. 

"  The  yellow  hen  is  well  able  to  take  care  of  her- 
self," said  he;  "so  don't  worry   about  her,  but   try 

177 


o 


m 


o 


f     o 


to  get  all  the  sleep  you  can.      It  has   been   a  long 
and  weary  day,  and  you  need  rest.** 

"1*11  prob*ly  get  lots  of  rest  tomorrow,  when  I 
become  an  orn*ment,**  said  Dorothy,  sleepily.  But 
she  lay  down  upon  her  couch,  nevertheless,  and  in 
spite  of  all  her  worries  was  soon  in  the  land  of  dreams. 


178 


DorotBgTfK^ 


the  Chief  Steward  had 
returned   to    the    throne 
room,  where  he  said  to  the 
King: 

"You  are  a  fool  to  waste  so 
much  time  upon  these  people." 

"What!"  cried  his  Majesty,  in 
so  enraged  a  voice   that  it   awoke 
Billina,    who    was    asleep    under    his 
throne.   «  How  dare  you  call  me  a  fool  ?" 

"Because  I  like  to  speak  the  truth," 
said  the  Steward.       "Why  didn't  you  en- 
chant them  all  at  once,  instead  of  allowing 
them  to  go  one  by  one  into  the  palace  and 
guess   which   ornaments   are   the  Queen  of  Ev 
and  her  children?" 

179 


Ozma        of        Oz 

"Why,  you  stupid  rascal  it  is  more  fun  this  way/* 
returned  the  King,  "and  it  serves  to  keep  me  amused 
for  a  long  time." 

"But  suppose  some  of  them  happen  to  guess 
aright,'*  persisted  the  Steward;  "then  you  would 
lose  your  old  ornaments  and  these  new  ones,  too/* 

"There  is  no  chance  of  their  guessing  aright,** 
replied  the  monarch,  with  a  laugh.  "How  could 
they  know  that  the  Queen  of  Ev  and  her  family  are 
all  ornaments  of  a  royal  purple  color?** 

"But  there  are  no  other  purple  ornaments  in  the 
palace,**  said  the  Steward. 

"There  are  many  other  colors,  however,  and  the 
purple  ones  are  scattered  throughout  the  rooms,  and 
are  of  many  diiFerent  shapes  and  sizes.  Take  my 
word  for  it.  Steward,  they  will  never  think  of  choos- 
ing the  purple  ornaments." 

Billina,  squatting  under  the  throne,  had  listened 
carefully  to  all  this  talk,  and  now  chuckled  softly 
to  herself  as  she  heard  the  King  disclose  his  secret. 

"Still,  you  are  acting  foolishly  by  running  the 
chance,**  continued  the  Steward,  roughly;  "and  it 
is  still  more  foolish  of  you  to  transform  all  those 
people  from  Oz  into  green  ornaments.** 

"I  did  that  because  they  came  from  the  Emerald 

180 


HOW  DARE  YOU  CALL  ME  A  FOOL? 


Dorothy    Tries    to    be    Brave 

City,"  replied  the  King;  <^and  I  had  no  green  orna- 
ments in  my  collection  until  now.  I  think  they 
will  look  quite  pretty,  mixed  with  the  others.  Don't 
you  r 

The  Steward  gave  an  angry  grunt. 

"Have  your  own  way,  since  you  are  the  King," 
he  growled.  "But  if  you  come  to  grief  through 
your  carelessness,  remember  that  I  told  you  so.  If 
I  wore  the  magic  belt  which  enables  you  to  work 
all  your  transformations,  and  gives  you  so  much 
other  power,  I  am  sure  I  would  make  a  much  wiser 
and  better  King  than  you  are." 

<<Oh,  cease  your  tiresome  chatter!"  commanded 
the  King,  getting  angry  again.  "Because  you  are 
my  Chief  Steward  you  have  an  idea  you  can  scold 
me  as  much  as  you  please.  But  the  very  next  time 
you  become  impudent,  I  will  send  you  to  work  in 
the  furnaces,  and  get  another  Nome  to  fill  your 
place-  Now  follow  me  to  my  chamber,  for  I  am 
going  to  bed.  And  see  that  I  am  wakened  early 
tomorrow  morning.  I  want  to  enjoy  the  fun  of 
transforming  the  rest  of  these  people  into  ornaments." 

"What  color  will  you  make  the  Kansas  girl?" 
asked  the  Steward. 

"Gray,  I  think,"  said  his  Majesty. 

"And  the  Scarecrow  and  the  machine  man?" 

182 


Dorothy    Tries    to    be    Brave 

"  oh,  they  shall  be  of  solid  gold,  because  they  are 
so  ugly  in  real  life." 

Then  the  voices  died  away,  and  Billina  knew 
that  the  King  and  his  Steward  had  left  the  room. 
She  fixed  up  some  of  her  tail  feathers  that  were  not 
straight,  and  then  tucked  her  head  under  her  wing 
again  and  went  to  sleep. 

In  the  morning  Dorothy  and  the  Lion  and  Tiger 
were  given  their  breakfast  in  their  rooms,  and  after- 
ward joined  the  King  in  his  throne  room.  The 
Tiger  complained  bitterly  that  he  was  half  starved, 
and  begged  to  go  into  the  palace  and  become  an 
ornament,  so  that  he  would  no  longer  sufFer  the 
pangs  of  hunger. 

"Haven't  you  had  your  breakfast?'*  asked  the 
Nome  King. 

"Oh,  I  had  just  a  bite,"  replied  the  beast.  "But 
what  good  is  a  bite,  to  a  hungry  tiger?" 

"He  ate  seventeen  bowls  of  porridge,  a  platter 
full  of  fried  sausages,  eleven  loaves  of  bread  and 
twenty-one  mince  pies,"  said  the  Steward. 

"What  more  do  you  want?"  demanded  the  King. 

"A  fat  baby.  I  want  a  fat  baby,"  said  the 
Hungry  Tiger.  "A  nice,  plump,  juicy,  tender,  fat 
baby.      But,  of  course,  if  I  had  one,  my  conscience 


183 


Ozma        of       Oz 

would  not  allow  me  to  eat  it.  So  I'll  have  to  be 
an  ornament  and  forget  my  hunger." 

"Impossible!"  exclaimed  the  King.  "Til  have 
no  clumsy  beasts  enter  my  palace,  to  overturn 
and  break  all  my  pretty  nick-nacks.  When  the 
rest  of  your  friends  are  transformed  you  can  return 
to  the  upper  world,  and  go  about  your  business." 

"As  for  that,  we  have  no  business,  when  our 
friends  are  gone,"  said  the  Lion.  "So  we  do  not 
'^iire  much  what  becomes  of  us." 

Dorothy  begged  to  be  allowed  to  go  first  into 
the  palace,  but  Tiktok  firmly  maintained  that  the 
slave  should  face  danger  before  the  mistress.  The 
Scarecrow  agreed  with  him  in  that,  so  the  Nome 
King  opened  the  door  for  the  machine  man,  who 
tramped  into  the  palace  to  meet  his  fate.  Then  his 
Majesty  returned  to  his  throne  and  puffed  his  pipe 
so  contentedly  that  a  small  cloud  of  smoke  formed 
above  his  head. 

Bye  and  bye  he  said: 

"Fm  sorry  there  are  so  few  of  you  left.  Very 
soon,  now,  my  fun  will  be  over,  and  then  for  amuse- 
ment I  shall  have  nothing  to  do  but  admire  my  new 
ornaments." 

"It  seems  to  me,"  said  Dorothy,  "that  you  are 
not  so  honest  as  you  pretend  to  be." 

184 


THE  NOME  KING  PUFFED  HIS  PIPE 


Ozma        of        Oz 

"How's  that?*'  asked  the  King. 

"Why,  you  made  us  think  it  would  be  easy  to 
guess  what  ornaments  the  people  of  Ev  were  changed 
into." 

"It  is  easy,'*  declared  the  monarch,  "if  one  is  a 
good  guesser.  But  it  appears  that  the  members  of 
your  party  are  all  poor  guessers." 

"What  is  Tiktok  doing  now?"  asked  the  girl, 
uneasily. 

"Nothing,"  replied  the  King,  with  a  frown.  "He 
is  standing  perfectly  still,  in  the  middle  of  a  room.** 

"Oh,  I  expect  he's  run  down,"  said  Dorothy. 
"I  forgot  to  wind  him  up  this  morning.  How  many 
guesses  has  he  made?" 

"All  that  he  is  allowed  except  one,"  answered 
the  King.  "Suppose  you  go  in  and  wind  him  up, 
and  then  you  can  stay  there  and  make  your  own 
guesses." 

"All  right,"  said  Dorothy. 

"It  is  my  turn  next,*'  declared  the  Scarecrow. 

"Why,  you  don't  want  to  go  away  and  leave  me 
all  alone,  do  you?"  asked  the  girl.  "Besides,  if  I 
go  now  I  can  wind  up  Tiktok,  so  that  he  can  make 
his  last  guess." 

"Very  well,  then,"  said  the  Scarecrow,  with  a  sigh. 


1S6 


Dorothy     Tries    to    be    Brave 

"Run  along,  little  Dorothy,  and  may  good  luck  go 
with  you ! " 

So  Dorothy,  trying  to  be  brave  in  spite  of  her 
fears,  passed  through  the  doorway  into  the  gorgeous 
rooms  of  the  palace.  The  stillness  of  the  place 
awed  her,  at  first,  and  the  child  drew  short  breaths, 
and  pressed  her  hand  to  her  heart,  and  looked  all 
around  with  wondering  eyes. 

Yes,  it  was  a  beautiful  place;  but  enchantments 
lurked  in  every  nook  and  corner,  and  she  had  not 
yet  grown  accustomed  to  the  wizardries  of  these  fairy 
countries,  so  different  from  the  quiet  and  sensible 
common-places  of  her  own  native  land. 

Slowly  she  passed  through  several  rooms  until 
she  came  upon  Tiktok,  standing  motionless.  It 
really  seemed,  then,  that  she  had  found  a  friend  in 
this  mysterious  palace,  so  she  hastened  to  wind  up 
the  machine  man*s  action  and  speech  and  thoughts. 

"Thank  you,  Dor-oth-y,"  were  his  first  words. 
"I  have  now  one  more  guess  to  make.'* 

"Oh,  be  very  careful,  Tiktok;  won't  you?"  cried 
the  girl. 

"  Yes.  But  the  Nome  King  has  us  in  his  power, 
and  he  has  set  a  trap  for  us.  I  fear  we  are  all  lost." 
he  answered. 

"I  fear  so,  too,"  said  Dorothy,  sadly. 

187 


Ozma        of        Oz 

"If  Smith  &  Tin-ker  had  giv-en  me  a  guess-ing 
clock-work  at-tach-ment/*  continued  Tiktok,  "I 
might  have  de-fied  the  Nome  King.  But  my 
thoughts  are  plain  and  sim-ple,  and  are  not  of  much 
use  in  this  case.'* 

"Do  the  best  you  can,"  said  Dorothy,  encourag- 
ingly, "and  if  you  fail  I  will  watch  and  see  what 
shape  you  are  changed  into." 

So  Tiktok  touched  a  yellow  glass  vase  that  had 
daisies  painted  on  one  side,  and  he  spoke  at  the 
same  time  the  word  "Ev," 

In  a  flash  the  machine  man  had  disappeared,  and 
although  the  girl  looked  quickly  in  every  direction, 
she  could  not  tell  which  of  the  many  ornaments 
the  room  contained  had  a  moment  before  been  her 
faithful  friend  and  servant. 

So  all  she  could  do  was  to  accept  the  hopeless 
task  set  her,  and  make  her  guesses  and  abide  by  the 
result. 

"It  can't  hurt  very  much,"  she  thought,  "for  I 
haven't  heard  any  of  them  scream  or  cry  out — not 
even  the  poor  officers.  Dear  me!  I  wonder  if 
Uncle  Henry  or  Aunt  Em  will  ever  know  I  have 
become  an  orn'ment  in  the  Nome  King's  palace, 
and  must  stand  forever  and  ever  in  one  place  and 
look  pretty — 'cept  when  I'm  moved  to  be  dusted. 

188 


Dorothy    Tries    to    be    Brave 

It  isn't  the  way  I  thought  Vd  turn  out,  at  all;  but 
I  s'pose  it  can't  be  helped." 

She  walked  through  all  the  rooms  once  more, 
and  examined  with  care  all  the  objects  they  con- 
tained; but  there  were  so  many,  they  bewildered 
her,  and  she  decided,  after  all,  as  Ozma  had  done, 
that  it  could  be  only  guess  work  at  the  best,  and 
that  the  chances  were  much  against  her  guessing 
aright. 

Timidly  she  touched  an  alabaster  bowl  and  said: 
"  Evr 

"That's  one  failure,  anyhow,"  she  thought.  "But 
how  am  I  to  know  which  thing  is  enchanted,  and 
which  is  not?" 

Next  she  touched  the  image  of  a  purple  kitten 
that  stood  on  the  corner  of  a  mantel,  and  as  she 
pronounced  the  word  <<Ev"  the  kitten  disappeared, 
and  a  pretty,  fair-haired  boy  stood  beside  her.  At 
the  same  time  a  bell  rang  somewhere  in  the  distance, 
and  as  Dorothy  started  back,  partly  in  surprise  and 
partly  in  joy,  the  little  one  exclaimed: 

"Where  am  I?  And  who  are  you?  And  what 
has  happened  to  me?" 

"Well,  I  declare!"  said  Dorothy.  "I've  really 
done  it." 

"Done  what?"  asked  the  boy. 

189 


o 


z    m    a 


o 


f     o 


« Saved  myself  from  being  an  ornament,'*  replied 
the  girl,  with  a  laugh,  "and  saved  you  from  being 
forever  a  purple  kitten." 

"A  purple  kitten?"  he  repeated.  "There  is  no 
such  thing." 

"I  know,"  she  answered.  "But  there  was,  a 
minute  ago.  Don't  you  remember  standing  on  a 
corner  of  the  mantel  ? " 


190 


Dorothy    Tries    to    be    Brave 

<<  of  course  not.  I  am  a  Prince  of  Ev,  and  my 
name  is  Evring,"  the  little  one  announced,  proudly. 
"But  my  father,  the  King,  sold  my  mother  and  all 
her  children  to  the  cruel  ruler  of  the  Nomes,  and 
after  that  I  remember  nothing  at  all." 

«A  purple  kitten  can't  be  *spected  to  remember, 
Evring,*'  said  Dorothy.  "But  now  you  are  yourself 
again,  and  I'm  going  to  try  to  save  some  of  your 
brothers  and  sisters,  and  perhaps  your  mother,  as 
well.      So  come  with  me." 

She  seized  the  child's  hand  and  eagerly  hurried 
here  and  there,  trying  to  decide  which  object  to 
choose  next.  The  third  guess  was  another  failure, 
and  so  was  the  fourth  and  the  fifth. 

Little  Evring  could  not  imagine  what  she  was 
doing,  but  he  trotted  along  beside  her  very  willingly, 
for  he  liked  the  new  companion  he  had  found. 

Dorothy's  further  quest  proved  unsuccessful;  but 
after  her  first  disappointment  was  over,  the  little  girl 
was  filled  with  joy  and  thankfulness  to  think  that 
after  all  she  had  been  able  to  save  one  member  of 
the  royal  family  of  Ev,  and  could  restore  the  little 
Prince  to  his  sorrowing  country.  Now  she  might 
return  to  the  terrible  Nome  King  in  safety,  carrying 
with  her  the  prize  she  had  won  in  the  person  of 
the  fair-haired  boy. 

191 


o 


m 


f     o 


So  she  retraced  her  steps  until  she  found  the  en- 
trance to  the  palace,  and  as  she  approached,  the 
massive  doors  of  rock  opened  of  their  own  accord, 
allowing  both  Dorothy  and  Evring  to  pass  the  portals 
and  enter  the  throne  room. 


192 


hSm  Inglifem  tne  Nome  King 


ow 


when  Dorothy  had  en- 
tered the  palace  to  make 
her  guesses  and  the   Scare- 
crow was  left  with  the  Nome 
King,   the   two    sat  in   moody 
silence  for  several  minutes.  Then 
the  monarch  exclaimed,  in  a  tone 
of  satisfaction : 

"Very  good  I** 

"Who  is  very  good? "  asked  the  Scare- 
crow. 

"The  machine  man.      He  won't  need  to 
be  wound  up  any  more,  for  he  has  now  be- 
come a  very  neat  ornament.      Very  neat,  in- 
deed." 

" How  about  Dorothy?" the  Scarecrow  enquired. 

193 


Ozma        of        Oz 

«Oh,  she  will  begin  to  guess,  pretty  soon/*  said 
the  King,  cheerfully.  "And  then  she  will  join  my 
collection,  and  it  will  be  your  turn/* 

The  good  Scarecrow  was  much  distressed  by  the 
thought  that  his  little  friend  was  about  to  suffer  the 
fate  of  Ozma  and  the  rest  of  their  party;  but  while 
he  sat  in  gloomy  reverie  a  shrill  voice  suddenly 
cried : 

«  Kut,  kut,  kut — ka-daw-kutt  I  Kut,  kut,  kut — 
ka-daw-kutt!  '* 

The  Nome  King  nearly  jumped  off  his  seat,  he 
was  so  startled. 

"Good  gracious!      What's  that?"  he  yelled. 

"Why,  it*s  Billina,"  said  the  Scarecrow. 

"What  do  you  mean  by  making  a  noise  like  that?" 
shouted  the  King,  angrily,  as  the  yellow  hen  came 
from  under  the  throne  and  strutted  proudly  about 
the  room. 

"  Fve  got  a  right  to  cackle,  I  guess,"  replied  Billina. 
"I've  just  laid  my  egg.' 

"What!  Laid  an  egg!  In  my  throne  room! 
How  dare  you  do  such  a  thipg?"  asked  the  King, 
in  a  voice  of  fury.  i 

"I  lay  eggs  wherever  I  happen  to  be,"  said  the 
hen,  ruffling  her  feathers  and  then  shaking  them  into 
place. 

194 


Billina  Frightens  the  Nome  King 

"But — thunder-ation !  Don't  you  know  that 
eggs  are  poison?"  roared  the  King,  while  his  rock- 
colored  eyes  stuck  out  in  great  terror. 

"  Poison !  well,  I  declare,"  said  Billina,  indignant- 
ly. "Til  have  you  know  all  my  eggs  are  warranted 
strictly  fresh  and  up  to  date.      Poison,  indeed!" 

"You  don't  understand,"  retorted  the  little  mon- 
arch, nervously.  "Eggs  belong  only  to  the  outside 
world — to  the  world  on  the  earth's  surface,  where 
you  came  from.  Here,  in  my  underground  king- 
dom, they  are  rank  poison,  as  I  said,  and  we  Nomes 
can't  bear  them  around." 

"Well,  you'll  have  to  bear  this  one  around," 
declared  Billina;  "for  I've  laid  it." 

"Where?"  asked  the  King. 

"Under  your  throne,"  said  the  hen. 

The  King  jumped  three  feet  into  the  air,  so 
anxious  was  he  to  get  away  from  the  throne. 

"Take  it  away!  Take  it  away  at  once!"  he 
shouted. 

"I  can't,"  said  Billina.     "I  havn't  any  hands." 

"I'll  take  the  egg,"  said  the  Scarecrow.  "I'm 
making  a  collection  of  Billina's  eggs.  There's  one 
in  my  pocket  now,  that  she  laid  yesterday." 

Hearing  this,  the  monarch  hastened  to  put  a 
good  distance  between  himself  and  the  Scarecrow, 

195 


Ozma        of        Oz 

who  was  about  to  reach  under  the  throne  for  the 
egg  when  the  hen  suddenly  cried: 

"Stop!'' 

"What's  wrong?"  asked  the  Scarecrow. 

"Don't  take  the  egg  unless  the  King  will  allow 
me  to  enter  the  palace  and  guess  as  the  others  have 
done,"  said  Billina. 

"Pshaw!"  returned  the  King.  "You  ^re  only  a 
hen.      How    could  you  guess  my  enchantments?" 

"I  can  try,  I  suppose,"  said  Billina.  "And,  if  I 
fail,  you  will  have  another  ornament." 

"A  pretty  ornament  you'd  make,  wouldn't  you?" 
growled  the  King.  "  But  you  shall  have  your  way. 
It  will  properly  punish  you  for  daring  to  lay  an  egg 
in  my  presence.  After  the  Scarecrow  is  enchanted 
you  shall  follow  him  into  the  palace.  But  how 
will  you  touch  the  objects?" 

"With  my  claws,"  said  the  hen;  "and  I  can 
speak  the  word  <Ev'  as  plainly  as  anyone.  Also  I 
must  have  the  right  to  guess  the  enchantments  of 
my  friends,  and  to  release  them  if  I  succeed." 

"Very  well,"  said  the  King.  "You  have  my 
promise." 

"Then,"  said  Billina  to  the  Scarecrow,  " you  may 
get  the  egg." 

He    knelt    down    and    reached    underneath    the 

196 


DONT  YOU  KNOW  THAT  EGGS  ARE  POISON? 


Ozma        of       Oz 

throne  and  found  the  egg,  which  he  placed  in  an- 
other pocket  of  his  jacket,  fearing  that  if  both  eggs 
were  in  one  pocket  they  would  knock  together  and 
get  broken. 

Just  then  a  bell  above  the  throne  rang  briskly, 
and  the  King  gave  another  nervous  jump. 

"Well,  well!"  said  he,  with  a  rueful  face;  "the 
girl  has  actually  done  it." 

"Done  what?"  asked  the  Scarecrow. 

"She  has  made  one  guess  that  is  right,  and  broken 
one  of  my  neatest  enchantments.  By  ricketty,  it's 
too  bad!      I  never  thought  she  would  do  it." 

"Do  I  understand  that  she  will  now  return  to 
us  in  safety?"  enquired  the  Scarecrow,  joyfully 
wrinkling  his  painted  face  into  a  broad  smile. 

"Of  course,"  said  the  King,  fretfully  pacing  up 
and  down  the  room.  "I  always  keep  my  promises, 
no  matter  how  foolish  they  are.  But  I  shall  make 
an  ornament  of  the  yellow  hen  to  replace  the  one 
I  have  just  lost." 

"  Perhaps  you  will,  and  perhaps  you  won't,"  mur- 
mured Billina,  calmly.  "I  may  surprise  you  by 
guessing  right." 

"Guessing  right?"  snapped  the  King.  "How 
should  you  guess  right,  where  your  betters  have, 
failed,  you  stupid  fowl?" 

198 


Billina  Frightens  the  Nome  King 

Billina  did  not  care  to  answer  this  question,  and 
a  moment  later  the  doors  flew  open  and  Dorothy 
entered,  leading  the  little  Prince  Evring  by  the  hand. 

The  Scarecrow  welcomed  the  girl  with  a  close 
embrace,  and  he  would  have  embraced  Evring,  too, 


in  his  delight.  But  the  little  Prince  was  shy,  and 
shrank  away  from  the  painted  Scarecrow  because  he 
did  not  yet  know  his  many  excellent  qualities. 

But  there  was  little  time  for  the  friends  to  talk, 
because  the  Scarecrow  must  now  enter  the  palace* 


199 


BY  RICKETTY.  IT'S  TCXD  BAD  I 


Billina  Frightens  the  Nome  King 

Dorothy's  success  had  greatly  encouraged  him,  and 
they  both  hoped  he  would  manage  to  make  at  least 
one  correct  guess. 

However,  he  proved  as  unfortunate  as  the  others 
except  Dorothy,  and  although  he  took  a  good  deal 
of  time  to  select  his  objects,  not  one  did  the  poor 
Scarecrow  guess  aright. 

So  he  became  a  solid  gold  card-receiver,  and  the 
beautiful  but  terrible  palace  awaited  it's  next  visitor. 

"It's  all  over,"  remarked  the  King,  with  a  sigh 
of  satisfaction;  "and  it  has  been  a  very  amusing  per- 
formance, except  for  the  one  good  guess  the  Kansas 
girl  made.  I  am  richer  by  a  great  many  pretty 
ornaments. 

«It  is  my  turn,  now,"  said  Billina,  briskly. 

"Oh,  Vd  forgotten  you,"  said  the  King.  "But 
you  needn't  go  if  you  don't  wish  to.  I  will  be 
generous,  and  let  you  off." 

"  No  you  won't,"  replied  the  hen.  "  I  insist  upon 
having  my  guesses,  as  you  promised." 

"Then  go  ahead,  you  absurd  feathered  fool  I" 
grumbled  the  King,  and  he  caused  the  opening  that 
led  to  the  palace  to  appear  once  more. 

"Don't  go,  Billina,"  said  Dorothy,  earnestly.  "It 
isn't  easy  to  guess  those  orn'ments,  and  only  luck 
saved  me  from  being  one   myself      Stay  with  me, 

201 


Ozma        of        Oz 

and  we'll  go  back  to  the  Land  of  Ev  together.  Tm 
sure  this  little  Prince  will  give  us  a  home.'* 

"Indeed  I  will,"  said  Evring,  with  much  dignity. 

"Don't  worry,  my  dear,"  cried  Billina,  with  a 
cluck  that  was  meant  for  a  laugh.  "I  may  not  be 
human,  but  I'm  no  fool,  if  I  am  a  chicken." 

"Oh,  Billina!"  said  Dorothy,  "you  haven't  been 
a  chicken  in  a  long  time.  Not  since  you — you've 
been — grown  up.*^ 

"Perhaps  that's  true,"  answered  Billina,  thought- 
fully. "But  if  a  Kansas  farmer  sold  me  to  some  one, 
what  would  he  call  me  ? — a  hen  or  a  chicken !  " 

"You  are  not  a  Kansas  farmer,  Billina,"  replied 
the  girl,  "and  you  said — " 

"  Never  mind  that,  Dorothy.  I'm  going.  I  won't 
say  good-bye,  because  I'm  coming  back.  Keep  up 
your  courage,  for  I'll  see  you  a  little  later." 

Then  Billina  gave  several  loud  "cluck-clucks" 
that  seemed  to  make  the  fat  little  King  more  nervous 
than  ever,  and  marched  through  the  entrance  into 
the  enchanted  palace. 

"I  hope  I've  seen  the  last  oi that  bird,"  declared 
the  monarch,  seating  himself  again  in  his  throne  and 
mopping  the  perspiration  from  his  forehead  with  his 
rock-colored  handkerchief.      "Hens  are  bothersome 


202 


Billina  Frightens  the  Nome  King 

enough  at  their  best,  but  when  they  can  talk  they're 
simply  dreadful." 

"Billina's  my  friend,"  said  Dorothy  quietly.  "She 
may  not  always  be  'zactly  polite;  but  she  means 
well,  I'm  sure/ 


203 


Turple ,  Green  ^dGold 


n 


m 


ffli 


iLh  dS 


yellow     hen,     stepping 
high  and  with  an  air  of 
vast     importance,     walked 
slowly   over   the   rich   velvet 
carpets  of  the  splendid  palace, 
examining   everything    she    met 
with  her  sharp  little  eyes. 

Billina  had  a  right  to  feel  impor- 
tant; for  she  alone  shared  the  Nome 
King's  secret  and  knew  how  to  tell  the 
objects   that  were    transformations  from 
those  that  had  never  been  alive.      She  was 
very  sure  that  her  guesses  would  be  correct, 
but  before  she   began  to  make  them  she  was 
curious  to  behold  all   the   magnificence  of  this 
underground   palace,  which   was   perhaps    one  of 

204 


Purple,  Green  and  Gold 

the  most  splendid  and  beautiful  places  in  any  fairy- 
land. 

As  she  went  through  the  rooms  she  counted  the 
purple  ornaments;  and  although  some  were  small 
and  hidden  in  queer  places,  Billina  spied  them  all, 
and  found  the  entire  ten  scattered  about  the  various 
rooms.  The  green  ornaments  she  did  not  bother 
to  count,  for  she  thought  she  could  find  them  all 
when  the  time  came. 

Finally,  having  made  a  survey  of  the  entire  palace 
and  enjoyed  its  splendor,  the  yellow  hen  returned 
to  one  of  the  rooms  where  she  had  noticed  a  large 
purple  footstool.  She  placed  a  claw  upon  this 
and  said  «Ev,'*  and  at  once  the  footstool  vanished 
and  a  lovely  lady,  tall  and  slender  and  most  beauti- 
fully robed,  stood  before  her. 

The  lady's  eyes  were  round  with  astonishment 
for  a  moment,  for  she  could  not  remember  her 
transformation,  nor  imagine  what  had  restored  her 
to  life. 

"Good  morning,  ma'am,"  said  Billina,  in  her 
sharp  voice.  "You're  looking  quite  well,  consider- 
ing your  age." 

"Who  speaks?"  demanded  the  Queen  of  Ev, 
drawing  herself  up  proudly. 

"Why,  my  name's  Bill,  by  rights,"  answered  the 

205 


Ozma        of        Oz 

hen,  who  was  now  perched  upon  the  back  of  a 
chair;  "although  Dorothy  has  put  scollops  on  it 
and  made  it  Billina.  But  the  name  doesn't  matter. 
I've  saved  you  from  the  Nome  King,  and  you  are 
a  slave  no  longer." 

"Then  I  thank  you  for  the  gracious  favor,"  said 
the  Queen,  with  a  graceful  courtesy.  "But,  my 
children — tell  me,  I  beg  of  you — where  are  my 
children?"  and  she  clasped  her  hands  in  anxious 
entreaty. 

"Don't  worry,"  advised  Billina,  pecking  at  a  tiny 
bug  that  was  crawling  over  the  chair  back.  "Just 
at  present  they  are  out  of  mischief  and  perfectly 
safe,  for  they  can't  even  wiggle." 

"What  mean  you,  O  kindly  stranger?"  asked  the 
Queen,  striving  to  repress  her  anxiety. 

"They're  enchanted,"  said  Billina,  "just  as  you 
have  been — all,  that  is,  except  the  little  fellow 
Dorothy  picked  out.  And  the  chances  are  that 
they  have  been  good  boys  and  girls  for  some  time, 
because  they  couldn't  help  it." 

"Oh,  my  poor  darlings!"  cried  the  Queen,  with 
a  sob  of  anguish. 

"Not  at  all,"  returned  the  hen.  "Don't  let  their 
condition  make  you  unhappy,  ma'am,  because  I'll 
soon  have   them  crowding  'round   to    bother   and 

206 


Purple,  Green  and  Gold 

worry  you  as  naturally  as  ever.  Come  with  me,  if 
you  please,  and  Til  show  you  how  pretty  they  look." 

She  flew  down  from  her  perch  and  walked  into 
the  next  room,  the  Queen  following.  As  she  passed 
a  low  table  a  small  green  grasshopper  caught  her 
eye,  and  instantly  Billina  pounced  upon  it  and 
snapped  it  up  in  her  sharp  bill.  For  grasshoppers 
are  a  favorite  food  with  hens,  and  they  usually  must 
be  caught  quickly,  before  they  can  hop  away.  It 
might  easily  have  been  the  end  of  Ozma  ofOz,  had 
she  been  a  real  grasshopper  instead  of  an  emerald 
one.  But  Billina  found  the  grasshopper  hard  and 
lifeless,  and  suspecting  it  was  not  good  to  eat  she 
quickly  dropped  it  instead  of  letting  it  slide  down 
her  throat. 

"I  might  have  known  better,"  she  muttered  to 
herself,  "for  where  there  is  no  grass  there  can  be  no 
live  grasshoppers.  This  is  probably  one  of  the  King's 
transformations." 

A  moment  later  she  approached  one  of  the  purple 
ornaments,  and  while  the  Queen  watched  her 
curiously  the  hen  broke  the  Nome  King's  enchant- 
ment and  a  sweet-faced  girl,  whose  golden  hair 
fell  in  a  cloud  over  her  shoulders,  stood  beside  them. 

"Evanna!"  cried  the  Queen,  "my  own  Evannal" 


207 


Ozma        of        Oz 

and  she  clasped  the  girl  to  her  bosom  and  covered 
her  face  with  kisses. 

"That's  all  right,"  said  Billina,  contentedly.  "Am 
I  a  good  guesser,  Mr.  Nome  King?      Well,  I  guess!" 

Then  she  disenchanted  another  girl,  whom  the 
Queen  addressed  as  Evrose,  and  afterwards  a  boy 
named  Evardo,  who  was  older  than  his  brother 
Evring.  Indeed,  the  yellow  hen  kept  the  good 
Queen  exclaiming  and  embracing  for  some  time, 
until  five  Princesses  and  four  Princes,  all  looking 
very  much  alike  except  for  the  difference  in  size,  stood 
in  a  row  beside  their  happy  mother. 

The  Princesses  were  named,  Evanna,  Evrose, 
Evella,  Evirene  and  Evedna,  while  the  Princes  were 
Evrob,  Evington,  Evardo  and  Evroland.  Of  these 
Evardo  was  the  eldest  and  would  inherit  his  father's 
throne  and  be  crowned  King  of  Ev  when  he  re- 
turned to  his  own  country.  He  was  a  grave  and 
quiet  youth,  and  would  doubtless  rule  his  people 
wisely  and  with  justice. 

Billina,  having  restored  all  of  the  royal  family  of  Ev 
to  their  proper  forms,  now  began  to  select  the  green 
ornaments  which  were  the  transformations  of  the 
people  of  Oz.  She  had  little  trouble  in  finding 
these,  and  before  long  all  the  twenty-six  officers, 
as  well   as    the   private,  were  gathered    around   the 

208 


THE  QUEEN  OF  EV  THANKS  BILLINA 


Ozma        of       Oz 

yellow  hen,  joyfully  congratulating  her  upon  their 
release.  The  thirty-seven  people  who  were  now  alive 
in  the  rooms  of  the  palace  knew  very  well  that  they 
owed  their  freedom  to  the  cleverness  of  the  yellow 
hen,  and  they  were  earnest  in  thanking  her  for 
saving  them  from  the  magic  of  the  Nome  King. 

"Now,"  said  Billina,  "I  must  find  Ozma.  She 
is  sure  to  be  here,  somewhere,  and  of  course  she  is 
green,  being  from  Oz.  So  look  around,  you  stupid 
soldiers  and  help  me  in  my  search." 

For  a  while,  however,  they  could  discover  nothing 
more  that  was  green.  But  the  Queen,  who  had 
kissed  all  her  nine  children  once  more  and  could 
now  find  time  to  take  an  interest  in  what  was  going 
on,  said  to  the  hen: 

"Mayhap,  my  gentle  friend,  it  is  the  grasshopper 
whom  you  seek." 

«Of  course  it's  the  grasshopper!"  exclaimed 
Billina.  «I  declare,  I'm  nearly  as  stupid  as  these 
brave  soldiers.  Wait  here  for  me,  and  I'll  go  back 
and  get  it." 

So  she  went  into  the  room  where  she  had  seen 
the  grasshopper,  and  presently  Ozma  of  Oz,  as  lovely 
and  dainty  as  ever,  entered  and  approached  the 
Queen  of  Ev,  greeting  her  as  one  high  born  princess 
greets  another. 

210 


Purple,  Green  and  Gold 


"But  where  are  my  friends,  the  Scarecrow  and 
the  Tin  Woodman?"  asked  the  girl  Ruler,  when 
these  courtesies  had  been  exchanged. 

"I'll  hunt  them  up,**  replied  Billina.  "The 
Scarecrow  is  solid  gold,  and  so  is  Tiktok;  but  I 
don't  exactly  know  what  the  Tin  Woodman  is,  be- 
cause the  Nome  King  said  he  had  been  transformed 
into  something  funny." 

Ozma  eagerly  assisted  the  hen  in  her  quest,  and 
soon  the  Scarecrow  and  the  machine  man,  being 
ornaments  of  shining  gold,  were  discovered  and  re- 
stored to  their  accustomed  forms.  But,  search  as 
they  might,  in  no  place  could  they  find  a  funny  or- 
nament that  might  be  the  transformation  of  the 
Tin  Woodman. 

"Only  one  thing  can  be  done,**  said  Ozma,  at 
last,  "and  that  is  to  return  to  the  Nome  King  and 
oblige  him  to  tell  us  what  has  become  of  our  friend.** 

"Perhaps  he  won't,**  suggested  Billina. 

"He  must,**  returned  Ozma,  firmly.  "The  King 
has  not  treated  us  honestly,  for  under  the  mask  of 
fairness  and  good  nature  he  entrapped  us  all,  and 
we  would  have  been  forever  enchanted  had  not  our 
wise  and  clever  friend,  the  yellow  hen,  found  a  way 
to  save  us.** 

"The  King  is  a  villain,"  declared  the  Scarecrow. 


211 


Ozma        of        Oz 

"  His  laugh  is  worse  than  another  man's  frown/* 
said  the  private,  with  a  shudder. 

"I  thought  he  was  hon-est,  but  I  was  mis-tak-en," 
remarked  Tiktok.  "My  thoughts  are  us-u-al-ly 
cor-rect,  but  it  is  Smith  &  Tin-ker*s  fault  if  they 
some-times  go  wrong  or  do  not  work  prop-er-ly/* 

"Smith  &  Tinker  made  a  very  good  job  of  you," 
said  Ozma,  kindly.  "  I  do  not  think  they  should 
be  blamed  if  you  are  not  quite  perfect.*' 

"Thank  you,"  replied  Tiktok. 

"Then,**  said  Billina,  in  her  brisk  little  voice, 
"let  us  all  go  back  to  the  Nome  King,  and  see 
what  he  has  to  say  for  himself" 

So  they  started  for  the  entrance,  Ozma  going 
first,  with  the  Queen  and  her  train  of  little  Princes 
and  Princesses  following.  Then  came  Tiktok,  and 
the  Scarecrow  with  Billina  perched  upon  his  straw- 
stuffed  shoulder.  The  twenty-seven  officers  and 
the  private  brought  up  the  rear. 

As  they  reached  the  hall  the  doors  flew  open  be- 
fore them;  but  then  they  all  stopped  and  stared 
into  the  domed  cavern  with  faces  of  astonishment 
and  dismay.  For  the  room  was  filled  with  the 
mail-clad  warriors  of  the  Nome  King,  rank  after 
rank  standing  in  orderly  array.  The  electric  lights 
upon  their  brows  gleamed  brightly,  their  battle-axes 

212 


Purple,  Green  and  Gold 

were  poised  as  if  to  strike  down  their  foes;  yet  they 
remained  motionless  as  statues,  awaiting  the  word 
of  command. 

And  in  the  center  of  this  terrible  army  sat  the 
little  King  upon  his  throne  of  rock.  But  he  neither 
smiled  nor  laughed.  Instead,  his  face  was  distorted 
with  rage,  and  most  dreadful  to  behold. 


213 


Tie  ScartcxoyWms  iL  fight 


Billina  had  entered  the 
palace  Dorothy  and  Ev- 
ring  sat  down  to  await  the 
success  or  failure  of  her  mis- 
sion,   and     the     Nome     King 
occupied  his  throne  and  smoked 
his    long  pipe    for   a   while    in    a 
cheerful  and  contented  mood. 

Then  the  bell    above    the    throne, 
which    sounded  whenever  an  enchant- 
ment was  broken,  began  to  ring,  and  the 
King  gave  a  start  of  annoyance    and    ex- 
claimed, "Rocketty-ricketts!" 

When  the  bell  rang  a  second  time  the  King 
shouted  angrily,  "Smudge  and  blazes!"  and  at 
a  third  ring  he  screamed  in  a  fury,  "  HippikaloricI" 

214 


The  Scarecrow  Wins  the  Fight 

which  must  be  a  dreadful  word  because  we  don*t 
know  what  it  means. 

After  that  the  bell  went  on  ringing  time  after 
time;  but  the  King  was  now  so  violently  enraged 
that  he  could  not  utter  a  word,  but  hopped  out  of 
his  throne  and  all  around  the  room  in  a  mad  frenzy, 
so  that  he  reminded  Dorothy  of  a  jumping-jack. 

The  girl  was,  for  her  part,  filled  with  joy  at  every 
peal  of  the  bell,  for  it  announced  the  fact  that  Bil- 
lina  had  transformed  one  more  ornament  into  a 
living  person.  Dorothy  was  also  amazed  at  Billina's 
success,  for  she  could  not  imagine  how  the  yellow 
hen  was  able  to  guess  correctly  from  all  the  be- 
wildering number  of  articles  clustered  in  the  rooms 
of  the  palace.  But  after  she  had  counted  ten,  and 
the  bell  continued  to  ring,  she  knew  that  not  only 
the  royal  family  of  Ev,  but  Ozma  and  her  followers 
also,  were  being  restored  to  their  natural  forms,  and 
she  was  so  delighted  that  the  antics  of  the  angry 
King  only  made  her  laugh  merrily. 

Perhaps  the  little  monarch  could  not  be  more 
furious  than  he  was  before,  but  the  girPs  laughter 
nearly  drove  him  frantic,  and  he  roared  at  her  like 
a  savage  beast.  Then,  as  he  found  that  all  his  en- 
chantments were  likely  to  be  dispelled  and  his 
victims  every  one  set  free,  he  suddenly  ran  to  the 

215 


Ozma        of        Oz 

little  door  that  opened  upon  the  balcony  and  gave 
the  shrill  whistle  that  summoned  his  warriors. 

At  once  the  army  filed  out  of  the  gold  and  silver 
doors  in  great  numbers,  and  marched  up  a  winding 
stairs  and  into  the  throne  room,  led  by  a  stern 
featured  Nome  who  was  their  captain.  When  they 
had  nearly  filled  the  throne  room  they  formed  ranks 
in  the  big  underground  cavern  below,  and  then 
stood  still  until  they  were  told  what  to  do  next. 

Dorothy  had  pressed  back  to  one  side  of  the 
cavern  when  the  warriors  entered,  and  now  she 
stood  holding  little  Prince  Evring's  hand  while  the 
great  Lion  crouched  upon  one  side  and  the  enor- 
mous Tiger  crouched  an  the  other  side. 

"Seize  that  girl!"  shouted  the  King  to  his  cap- 
tain, and  a  group  of  warriors  sprang  forward  to 
obey.  But  both  the  Lion  and  Tiger  snarled  so 
fiercely  and  bared  their  strong,  sharp  teeth  so  threat- 
eningly^ that  the  men  drew  back  in  alarm. 

"Don't  mind  them!"  cried  the  Nome  King; 
"they  cannot  leap  beyond  the  places  where  they 
now  stand." 

"But  they  can  bite  those  who  attempt  to  touch 
the  girl,"  said  the  captain. 

"  ril  fix  that,"  answered  the  King.  "  Fll  enchant 
them  again,  so  that  they  can't  open  their  jaws." 

216 


The  Scarecrow  Wins  the  Fight 

He  stepped  out  of  the  throne  to  do  this,  but  just 
then  the  Sawhorse  ran  up  behind  him  and  gave  the 
fat  monarch  a  powerful  kick  with  both  his  wooden 
hind  legs. 

"Owl  Murder!  Treason!"  yelled  the  King, 
who  had  been  hurled  against  several  of  his  warriors 
and  was  considerably  bruised.      "Who  did  that?" 

"I  did,"  growled  the  Sawhorse, viciously.  "You 
let  Dorothy  alone,  or  TU  kick  you  again." 

"We'll  see  about  that,"  replied  the  King,  and  at 
once  he  waved  his  hand  toward  the  Sawhorse  and 
muttered  a  magical  word.  "Aha!"  he  continued; 
*^now  let  us  see  you  move,  you  wooden  mule!" 

But  in  spite  of  the  magic  the  Sawhorse  moved; 
and  he  moved  so  quickly  toward  the  King,  that  the 
fat  little  man  could  not  get  out  of  his  way.  Thump — 
bang  f  cdiVCi^  the  wooden  heels,  right  against  his  round 
body,  and  the  King  flew  into  the  air  and  fell  upon 
the  head  of  his  captain,  who  let  him  drop  flat  upon 
the  ground. 

"Well,  well!"  said  the  King,  sitting  up  and  look- 
ing surprised.  "Why  didn't  my  magic  belt  work, 
I  wonder?" 

"The  creature  is  made  of  wood,"  replied  the 
captain.  "Your  magic  will  not  work  on  wood, 
you  know." 

217 


Ozma        of       Oz 

"Ah,  Yd  forgotten  that/'  said  the  King,  getting 
up  and  limping  to  his  throne.  "Very  well,  let  the 
girl  alone.      She  can't  escape  us,  anyway." 

The  warriors,  who  had  been  rather  confused  by 
these  incidents,  now  formed  their  ranks  again,  and 
the  Sawhorse  pranced  across  the  room  to  Dorothy 
and  took  a  position  beside  the  Hungry  Tiger. 

At  that  moment  the  doors  that  led  to  the  palace 
flew  open  and  the  people  of  Ev  and  the  people  of 
Oz  were  disclosed  to  view.  They  paused,  aston- 
ished, at  sight  of  the  warriors  and  the  angry  Nome 
King,  seated  in  their  midst. 

"Surrender!"  cried  the  King,  in  a  loud  voice. 
"You  are  my  prisoners." 

"Go  'long!"  answered  Billina,  from  the  Scare- 
crow's shoulder.  "You  promised  me  that  if  I 
guessed  correctly  my  friends  and  T  might  depart  in 
safety.      And  you  always  keep  your  promises." 

"I  said  you  might  leave  the  palace  in  safety," 
retorted  the  King;  "and  so  you  may,  but  you  can- 
not leave  my  dominions.  You  are  my  prisoners, 
and  I  will  hurl  you  all  into  my  underground  dun- 
geons, where  the  volcanic  fires  glow  and  the  molten 
lava  flows  in  every  direction,  and  the  air  is  hotter 
than  blue  blazes." 

"That  will  be  the  end  of  me,  all  right,"  said  the 

218 


HELP.  HELPl  -  SCREAMED  THE  KING 


Ozma        of        Oz 

Scarecrow,  sorrowfully.  "One  small  blaze,  blue  or 
green,  is  enough  to  reduce  me  to  an  ash-heap." 

"Do  you  surrender?"  demanded  the  King. 

Billina  whispered  something  in  the  Scarecrow's 
ear  that  made  him  smile  and  put  his  hands  in  his 
jacket  pockets. 

"No!"  returned  Ozma,  boldly  answering  the 
King.      Then  she  said  to  her  army: 

"Forward,  my  brave  soldiers,  and  fight  for  your 
Ruler  and  yourselves,  unto  death!" 

"Pardon  me,  Most  Royal  Ozma,"  replied  one  of 
her  generals;  "but  I  find  that  I  and  my  brother 
officers  all  suffer  from  heart  disease,  and  the  slightest 
excitement  might  kill  us.  If  we  fight  we  may  get 
excited.  Would  it  not  be  well  for  us  to  avoid  this 
grave  danger?" 

"  Soldiers  should  not  have  heart  disease,"  said  Ozma. 

"Private  soldiers  are  not,  I  believe,  afflicted  that 
way,"  declared  another  general,  twirling  his  mous- 
tache thoughtfully.  "If  your  Royal  Highness  de- 
sires, we  will  order  our  private  to  attack  yonder 
warriors." 

"Do  so,"  replied  Ozma. 

"For-ward — march!"  cried  all  the  generals,  with 
one  voice.  "For-ward— march!  "  yelled  the  colo- 
nels.      "For-ward — march!"    shouted    the   majors. 

220 


The  Scarecrow  Wins  the  Fight 

"  For-ward — march !  *'     commanded     the     captains. 

And  at  that  the  private  leveled  his  spear  and 
dashed  furiously  upon  the  foe. 

The  captain  of  the  Nomes  w^as  so  surprised  by 
this  sudden  onslaught  that  he  forgot  to  command 
his  warriors  to  fight,  so  that  the  ten  men  in  the  first 
row,  who  stood  in  front  of  the  private's  spear,  fell 
over  like  so  many  toy  soldiers.  The  spear  could 
not  go  through  their  steel  armor,  however,  so  the 
warriors  scrambled  to  their  feet  again,  and  by  that 
time  the  private  had  knocked  over  another  row  of 
them. 

Then  the  captain  brought  down  his  battle-axe 
with  such  a  strong  blow  that  the  private's  spear  was 
shattered  and  knocked  from  his  grasp,  and  he  was 
helpless  to  fight  any  longer. 

The  Nome  King  had  left  his  throne  and  pressed 
through  his  warriors  to  the  front  ranks,  so  he  could 
see  what  was  going  on;  but  as  he  faced  Ozma  and 
her  friends  the  Scarecrow,  as  if  aroused  to  action  by 
the  valor  of  the  private,  drew  one  of  Billina's  eggs 
from  his  right  jacket  pocket  and  hurled  it  straight  at 
the  little  monarch's  head. 

It  struck  him  squarely  in  his  left  eye,  where  the 
egg  smashed  and  scattered,  as  eggs  will,  and  covered 
his  face  and  hair  and  beard  with  its  sticky  contents. 

221 


Ozma        of        Oz 

"Help,  help!**  screamed  the  King,  clawing  with 
his  fingers  at  the  egg,  in  a  struggle  to  remove  it. 

"An  egg!  an  egg!  Run  for  your  lives!"  shouted 
the  captain  of  the  Nomes,  in  a  voice  of  horror. 

And  how  they  did  run!  The  warriors  fairly 
tumbled  over  one  another  in  their  efforts  to  escape 
the  fatal  poison  of  that  awful  egg,  and  those  who 
could  not  rush  down  the  winding  stair  fell  off  the 
balcony  into  the  great  cavern  beneath,  knocking 
over  those  who  stood  below  them. 

Even  while  the  King  was  still  yelling  for  help 
his  throne  room  became  emptied  of  every  one  of 
his  warriors,  and  before  the  monarch  had  managed 
to  clear  the  egg  away  from  his  left  eye  the  Scarecrow 
threw  the  second  egg  against  his  right  eye,  where  it 
smashed  and  blinded  him  entirely.  The  King  was 
unable  to  flee  because  he  could  not  see  which  way 
to  run;  so  he  stood  still  and  howled  and  shouted 
and  screamed  in  abject  fear. 

While  this  was  going  on,  Billina  flew  over  to 
Dorothy,  and  perching  herself  upon  the  Lion*s  back 
the  hen  whispered  eagerly  to  the  girl: 

"Get  his  belt!  Get  the  Nome  King's  jeweled 
belt!  It  unbuckles  in  the  back.  Quick,  Dorothy — 
quick!** 


222 


TZeEt 


Cq 


obeyed.       She     ran     at 
once   behind    the    Nome 
King,  who  was  still  trying 
to  free  his  eyes  from  the  egg, 
and    in    a    twinkling    she  had 
unbuckled  his   splendid  jeweled 
belt  and  carried  it  away  with  her 
to  her  place   beside   the  Tiger  and 
Lion,  where,  because  she  did  not  know 
what  else  to  do  with  it,  she  fastened  it 
around  her  own  slim  waist. 

Just  then  the  Chief  Steward   rushed  in 
with  a  sponge  and  a  bowl  of  water,  and  be- 
gan mopping  away  the  broken  eggs  from  his 
master's  face.      In  a  few  minutes,  and  while  all 
the  party  stood  looking  on,  the  King  regained  the 

223 


Ozma        of        Oz 

use  of  his  eyes,  and  the  first  thing  he  did  was  to 
glare  wickedly  upon  the  Scarecrow  and  exclaim: 

"Fll  make  you  suiFer  for  this,  you  hay-stufFed 
dummy!  Don't  you  know  eggs  are  poison  to 
Nomes?" 

"Really,'*  said  the  Scarecrow,  " they  <5!<9;^V  seem  to 
agree  with  you,  although  I  wonder  why/* 

"They  were  strictly  fresh  and  above  suspicion,** 
said  Billina.      "You  ought  to  be  glad  to  get  them.*' 

"1*11  transform  you  all  into  scorpions!**  cried  the 
King,  angrily,  and  began  waving  his  arms  and  mutter- 
ing magic  words. 

But  none  of  the  people  became  scorpions,  so  the 
King  stopped  and  looked  at  them  in  surprise. 

"What's  wrong?**  he  asked. 

"Why,  you  are  not  wearing  your  magic  belt,**  re- 
plied the  Chief  Steward,  after  looking  the  King 
over  carefully.  "Where  is  it?'*  What  have  you 
done  with  it?" 

The  Nome  King  clapped  his  hand  to  his  waist, 
and  his  rock  colored  face  turned  white  as  chalk. 

"It's  gone,"  he  cried,  helplessly.  "It's  gone,  and 
I  am  ruined!" 

Dorothy  now  stepped  forward  and  said: 

"Royal  Ozma,  and  you.  Queen  of  Ev,  I  welcome 
you  and  your  people  back  to  the  land  of  the  living. 

224 


The  Fate  of  the  Tin  Woodman 

BilHna  has  saved  you  from  your  troubles,  and  now 
we  will  leave  this  drea'ful  place,  and  return  to  Ev  as 
soon  as  poss'ble." 

While  the  child  spoke  they  could  all  see  that  she 
wore  the  magic  belt,  and  a  great  cheer  went  up 
from  all  her  friends,  which  was  led  by  the  voices  of 
the  Scarecrow  and  the  private.  But  the  Nome 
King  did  not  join  them.  He  crept  back  onto  his 
throne  like  a  whipped  dog,  and  lay  there  bitterly 
bemoaning  his  defeat. 

"But  we  have  not  yet  found  my  faithful  follower, 
the  Tin  Woodman,  <<said  Ozma  to  Dorothy,  "and 
without  him  I  do  not  wish  to  go  away." 

"Nor  I,"  replied  Dorothy,  quickly.  "Wasn't  he 
in  the  palace?" 

"He  must  be  there,"  said  Billina;  "but  I  had  no 
clew  to  guide  me  in  guessing  the  Tin  Woodman,  so 
I  must  have  missed  him." 

"We  will  go  back  into  the  rooms,"  said  Dorothy. 
"This  magic  belt,  I  am  sure,  will  help  us  to  find 
our  dear  old  friend." 

So  she  re-entered  the  palace,  the  doors  of  which 
still  stood  open,  and  everyone  followed  her  except 
the  Nome  King,  the  Queen  of  Ev  and  Prince  Ev- 
ring.      The  mother  had  taken  the  little  Prince  in 


225 


Ozma        of        Oz 

her  lap  and  was  fondling  and  kissing  him  lovingly, 
for  he  was  her  youngest  born. 

But  the  others  went  with  Dorothy,  and  when  she 
came  to  the  middle  of  the  first  room  the  girl  waved 
her  hand,  as  she  had  seen  the  King  do,  and  com- 
manded the  Tin  Woodman,  whatever  form  he  might 
then  have,  to  resume  his  proper  shape.  No  result 
followed  this  attempt,  so  Dorothy  went  into  another 
room  and  repeated  it,  and  so  through  all  the 
rooms  of  the  palace.  Yet  the  Tin  Woodman  did 
not  appear  to  them,  nor  could  they  imagine  which 
among  the  thousands  of  ornaments  was  their  trans- 
formed friend. 

Sadly  they  returned  to  the  throne  room,  where 
the  King,  seeing  that  they  had  met  with  failure, 
jeered  at  Dorothy,  saying: 

«<You  do  not  know  how  to  use  my  belt,  so  it  is 
of  no  use  to  youc  Give  it  back  to  me  and  I  will 
let  you  go  free — you  and  all  the  people  who  came 
with  you.  As  for  the  royal  family  of  Ev,  they  are 
my  slaves,  and  shall  remain  here." 

«I  shall  keep  the  belt,"  said  Dorothy. 

"But  how  can  you  escape,  without  my  consent?" 
asked  the  King. 

"Easily  enough,"  answered  the  girl.  "All  we 
need  to  do  is  to  walk  out  the  way  that  we  came  in." 

226 


DOROTHY  AND  BILUNA  ARGUE  WITH  THE  KING 


Ozma        of        Oz 

"Oh,  that's  all,  is  it?"  sneered  the  King.  "Well, 
where  is  the  passage  through  which  you  entered  this 
room  r 

They  all  looked  around,  but  could  not  discover 
the  place,  for  it  had  long  since  been  closed.  Dor- 
othy, however,  would  not  be  dismayed.  She  waved 
her  hand  toward  the  seemingly  solid  wall  of  the 
cavern  and  said: 

"I  command  the  passage  to  open!" 

Instantly  the  order  was  obeyed;  the  opening  ap- 
peared and  the  passage  lay  plainly  before  them. 

The  King  was  amazed,  and  all  the  others  over- 
joyed. 

"Why,  then,  if  the  belt  obeys  you,  were  we  un- 
able to  discover  the  Tin  Woodman?"  asked  Ozma. 

"I  can't  imagine,"  said  Dorothy. 

"See  here,  girl,"  proposed  the  King,  eagerly; 
"give  me  the  belt,  and  I  will  tell  you  what  shape  the 
Tin  Woodman  was  changed  into,  and  then  you  can 
easily  find  him." 

Dorothy  hesitated,  but  Billina  cried  out: 

"Don't  you  do  it!  If  the  Nome  King  gets  the 
belt  again  he  will  make  every  one  of  us  prisoners, 
for  we  will  be  in  his  power.  Only  by  keeping  the 
belt,  Dorothy,  will  you  ever  be  able  to  leave  this 
place  in  safety." 

228 


The  Fate  of  the  Tin  Woodman 

"I  think  that  is  true/'  said  the  Scarecrow.  <'But 
I  have  another  idea,  due  to  my  excellent  brains. 
Let  Dorothy  transform  the  King  into  a  goose-egg 
unless  he  agrees  to  go  into  the  palace  and  bring 
out  to  us  the  ornament  which  is  our  friend  Nick 
Chopper,  the  Tin  Woodman/' 

"A  goose-egg!*'  echoed  the  horrified  King.  "How 
dreadful!" 


229 


Ozma       of       Oz 

"Well,  a  goose-egg  you  will  be  unless  you  go  and 
fetch  us  the  ornament  we  want,"  declared  Billina, 
with  a  joyful  chuckle. 

"You  can  see  for  yourself  that  Dorothy  is  able 
to  use  the  magic  belt  all  right,"  added  the  Scarecrow. 

The  Nome  King  thought  it  over  and  finally  con- 
sented, for  he  did  not  want  to  be  a  goose-egg.  So 
he  went  into  the  palace  to  get  the  ornament  which 
was  the  transformation  of  the  Tin  Woodman,  and 
they  all  awaited  his  return  with  considerable  im- 
patience, for  they  were  anxious  to  leave  this  under- 
ground cavern  and  see  the  sunshine  once  more. 
But  when  the  Nome  King  came  back  he  brought 
nothing  with  him  except  a  puzzled  and  anxious 
expression  upon  his  face. 

"He's  gone!"  he  said.  "The  Tin  Woodman  is 
nowhere  in  the  palace." 

"Are  you  sure?"  asked  Ozma,  sternly. 

"Tm  very  sure,"  answered  the  King,  trembling, 
"for  I  know  just  what  I  transformed  him  into,  and 
exactly  where  he  stood.  But  he  is  not  there,  and 
please  don't  change  me  into  a  goose-egg,  because 
I've  done  the  best  I  could." 

They  were  all  silent  for  a  time,  and  then  Dorothy 
said: 

"There  is  no  use  punishing  the  Nome  King  any 

230 


The  Fate  of  the  Tin  Woodman 

more,  and  Fm  'fraid  we'll  have  to  go  away  without 
our  friend.'* 

"If  he  is  not  here,  we  cannot  rescue  him,"  agreed 
the  Scarecrow,  sadly.  "Poor  Nick!  I  wonder 
what  has  become  of  him." 

"And  he  owed  me  six  weeks  back  pay!"  said  one 
of  the  generals,  wiping  the  tears  from  his  eyes  with 
his  gold-laced  coat  sleeve. 

Very  sorrowfully  they  determined  to  return  to 
the  upper  world  without  their  former  companion, 
and  so  Ozma  gave  the  order  to  begin  the  march 
through    the    passage. 

The  army  went  first,  and  then  the  royal  family 
of  Ev,  and  afterward  came  Dorothy,  Ozma,  Billina, 
the  Scarecrow  and  Tiktok. 

They  left  the  Nome  King  scowling  at  them  from 
his  throne,  and  had  no  thought  of  danger  until 
Ozma  chanced  to  look  back  and  saw  a  large  num- 
ber of  the  warriors  following  them  in  full  chase, 
with  their  swords  and  spears  and  axes  raised  to  strike 
down  the  fugitives  as  soon  as  they  drew  near  enough. 

Evidently  the  Nome  King  had  made  this  last  at- 
tempt to  prevent  their  escaping  him;  but  it  did  him 
no  good,  for  when  Dorothy  saw  the  danger  they 
were  in  she  stopped  and  waved  her  hand  and 
whispered  a  command  to  the  magic  belt, 

231 


o 


z    m    a 


o    f        O 


o 


d 


Instantly  the  foremost  warriors  became  eggs, 
which  rolled  upon  the  floor  of  the  cavern  in  such 
numbers  that  those  behind  could  not  advance  with- 
out stepping  upon  them.  But,  when  they  saw  the 
eggs,  all  desire  to  advance  departed  from  the  war- 
riors, and  they  turned  and  fled  madly  into  the 
cavern,  and  refused  to  go  back  again. 

Our  friends  had  no  farther  trouble  in  reaching 
the  end  of  the  passage,  and  soon  were  standing  in 
the  outer  air  upon   the  gloomy  path   between   the 

232 


The  Fate  of  the  Tin  Woodman 

two  high  mountains.  But  the  way  to  Ev  lay  plainly 
before  them,  and  they  fervently  hoped  that  they  had 
seen  the  last  of  the  Nome  King  and  of  his  dreadful 
palace. 

The  cavalcade  was  led  by  Ozma,  mounted  on 
the  Cowardly  Lion,  and  the  Queen  of  Ev,  who  rode 
upon  the  back  of  the  Tiger.  The  children  of  the 
Queen  walked  behind  her,  hand  in  hand.  Dorothy 
rode  the  Sawhorse,  while  the  Scarecrow  walked  and 
commanded  the  army  in  the  absence  of  the  Tin 
Woodman. 

Presently  the  way  began  to  lighten  and  more  of 
the  sunshine  to  come  in  between  the  two  moun- 
tains. And  before  long  they  heard  the  "thump! 
thump!  thump!"  of  the  giant's  hammer  upon  the 
road. 

"How  may  we  pass  the  monstrous  man  of  iron?" 
asked  the  Queen,  anxious  for  the  safety  of  her  chil- 
dren. But  Dorothy  solved  the  problem  by  a  word 
to  the  magic  belt. 

The  giant  paused,  with  his  hammer  held  motion- 
less in  the  air,  thus  allowing  the  entire  party  to 
pass  between  his  cast-iron  legs  in  safety. 


233 


Tha  King   of  i  Ijv 


r^^S 


th 


ere  were  any  smiting, 
rock-colored   Nomes   on 
the     mountain    side    now, 
they  were  silent  and  respect- 
ful, for  our  adventurers  were 
not  annoyed,  as  before,  by  th< 
impudent    laughter.       Really 
Nomes    had    nothing   to    lauj 
since  the  defeat  of  their  King. 

On  the  other  side  they  found  Ozma's 
golden  chariot,  standing  as  they  had  left  it. 
Soon  the  Lion  and  the  Tiger  were  harnessed 
to  the  beautiful  chariot,  in  which  was  enough 
room  for  Ozma  and  the  Queen  and  six  of  the 
royal  children. 

Little    Evring    preferred    to    ride    with     Dor- 

234 


The     King     of     Ev 

othy  upon  the  Sawhorse,  which  had  a  long  back. 
The  Prince  had  recovered  from  his  shyness  and  had 
become  very  fond  of  the  girl  who  had  rescued  him, 
so  they  were  fast  friends  and  chatted  pleasantly  to- 
gether as  they  rode  along.  Billina  was  also  perched 
upon  the  head  of  the  wooden  steed,  which  seemed 
not  to  mind  the  added  weight  in  the  least,  and  the 
boy  was  full  of  wonder  that  a  hen  could  talk,  and 
say  such  sensible  things. 

When  they  came  to  the  gulf,  Ozma's  magic 
carpet  carried  them  all  over  in  safety;  and  now  they 
began  to  pass  the  trees,  in  which  birds  were  singing; 
and  the  breeze  that  was  wafted  to  them  from  the 
farms  of  Ev  was  spicy  with  flowers  and  new-mown 
hay;  and  the  sunshine  fell  full  upon  them,  to  warm 
them  and  drive  away  from  their  bodies  the  chill  and 
dampness  of  the  underground  kingdom  of  the 
Nomes. 

"I  would  be  quite  content,*'  said  the  Scarecrow 
to  Tiktok,  "were  only  the  Tin  Woodman  with  us. 
But  it  breaks  my  heart  to  leave  him  behind." 

"He  was  a  fine  fel-low,"  replied  Tiktok,  "al- 
though his  ma-ter-i-al  was  not  ve-ry  du-ra-ble.*' 

"Oh,  tin  is  an  excellent  material,"  the  Scarecrow 
hastened  to  say;  "and  if  anything  ever  happened  to 
poor  Nick  Chopper  he  was  always  easily  soldered. 

235 


Ozma        of        Oz 

Besides,  he  did  not  have  to  be  wound  up,  and  was 
not  liable  to  get  out  of  order." 

"I  some-times  wish,'*  said  Tiktok,  "that  I  was 
stufFed  with  straw,  as  you  are.  It  is  hard  to  be 
made  of  cop-per." 

"I  have  no  reason  to  complain  of  my  lot,"  re- 
plied the  Scarecrow.  "A  little  fresh  straw,  now  and 
then,  makes  me  as  good  as  new.  But  I  can  never 
be  the  polished  gentleman  that  my  poor  departed 
friend,  the  Tin  Woodman,  was. ' 

You  may  be  sure  the  royal  children  of  Ev  and 
their  Queen  mother  were  delighted  at  seeing  again 
their  beloved  country;  and  when  the  towers  of  the 
palace  of  Ev  came  into  view  they  could  not  forbear 
cheering  at  the  sight.  Little  Evring,  riding  in  front  of 
Dorothy,  was  so  overjoyed  that  he  took  a  curious  tin 
whistle  from  his  pocket  and  blew  a  shrill  blast  that 
made  the  Sawhorse  leap  and  prance  in  sudden  alarm. 

"What  is  that?"  asked  Billina,  who  had  been 
obliged  to  flutter  her  wings  in  order  to  keep  her 
seat  upon  the  head  of  the  frightened  Sawhorse. 

"That's  my  whistle,"  said  Prince  Evring,  holding 
it  out  upon  his  hand. 

It  was  in  the  shape  of  a  little  fat  pig,  made  of 
tin  and  painted  green.  The  whistle  was  in  the  tail 
of  the  pig. 

236 


T  h  e     K 


1  n  g     o 


f     E 


"Where  did  you  get  it?"  asked  the  yellow  hen, 
closely  examining  the  toy  with  her  bright  eyes. 

"Why,  I  picked  it  up  in  the  Nome  King's  palace, 
while  Dorothy  was  making  her  guesses,  and  I  put  it 
in  my  pocket,"  answered  the  little  Prince. 


Billina  laughed;  or  at  least  she  made  the  peculiar 
cackle  that  served  her  for  a  laugh. 

"No  wonder  I  couldn't  find  the  Tin  Woodman," 
she  said;  and  no  wonder  the  magic  belt  didn't 
make  him  appear,  or  the  King  couldn't  find  him, 
either! " 

237 


Ozma        of        Oz 

"What  do  you  mean?'*  questioned  Dorothy. 

"Why,  the  Prince  had  him  in  his  pocket,"  cried 
Billina,  cackling  again. 

"I  did  not!"  protested  little  Evring.  "I  only 
took  the  whistle." 

"Well,  then,  watch  me,"  returned  the  hen,  and 
reaching  out  a  claw  she  touched  the  whistle  and 
said  "Ev." 

Swish! 

"Good  afternoon,"  said  the  Tin  Woodman,  tak- 
ing off  his  funnel  cap  and  bowing  to  Dorothy  and 
the  Prince.  "I  think  I  must  have  been  asleep  for 
the  first  time  since  I  was  made  of  tin,  for  I  do  not 
remember  our  leaving  the  Nome  King." 

"You  have  been  enchanted,"  answered  the  girl, 
throwing  an  arm  around  her  old  friend  and  hugging 
him  tight  in  her  joy.      "But  it's  all  right,  now." 

"I  want  my  whistle!"  said  the  little  Prince,  be- 
ginning to  cry. 

"Hush!"  cautioned  Billina.  "The  whistle  is 
lost,  but  you  may  have  another  when  you  get  home." 

The  Scarecrow  had  fairly  thrown  himself  upon 
the  bosom  of  his  old  comrade,  so  surprised  and  de- 
lighted was  he  to  see  him  again,  and  Tiktok  squeezed 
the  Tin  Woodman's  hand  so  earnestly  that  he  dented 
some  of  his  fingers.      Then  they  had  to  make  way 

238 


YOUR  FUTURE  RULER.  KING  EVARDO  FIFTEENTH- 


Ozma        of        Oz 

for  Ozma  to  welcome  the  tin  man,  and  the  army 
caught  sight  of  him  and  set  up  a  cheer,  and  every- 
body was  delighted  and  happy. 

For  the  Tin  Woodman  was  a  great  favorite  with 
all  who  knew  him,  and  his  sudden  recovery  after 
they  had  thought  he  was  lost  to  them  forever  was 
indeed  a  pleasant  surprise. 

Before  long  the  cavalcade  arrived  at  the  royal 
palace,  where  a  great  crowd  of  people  had  gathered 
to  welcome  their  Queen  and  her  ten  children. 
There  was  much  shouting  and  cheering,  and  the 
people  threw  flowers  in  their  path,  and  every  face 
wore  a  happy  smile. 

They  found  the  Princess  Langwidere  in  her 
mirrored  chamber,  where  she  was  admiring  one  of 
her  handsomest  heads — one  with  rich  chestnut  hair, 
dreamy  walnut  eyes  and  a  shapely  hickorynut  nose. 
She  was  very  glad  to  be  relieved  of  her  duties  to 
the  people  of  Ev,  and  the  Queen  graciously  per- 
mitted her  to  retain  her  rooms  and  her  cabinet  of 
heads  as  long  as  she  lived. 

Then  the  Queen  took  her  eldest  son  out  upon  a 
balcony  that  overlooked  the  crowd  of  subjects 
gathered  below,  and  said  to  them: 

"Here  is  your  future  ruler.  King  Evardo  Fif- 
teenth.     He  is  fifteen  years  of  age,  has  fifteen  silver 

240 


The     King     of     Ev 

buckles  on  his  jacket  and  is  the  fifteenth  Evardo  to 
rule  the  land  of  Ev.** 

The  people  shouted  their  approval  fifteen  times, 
and  even  the  Wheelers,  some  of  w^hom  were  present, 
loudly  promised  to  obey  the  new^  King. 

So  the  Queen  placed  a  big  crow^n  of  gold,  set 
with  rubies,  upon  Evardo*s  head,  and  threw  an 
ermine  robe  over  his  shoulders,  and  proclaimed  him 
King;  and  he  bowed  gratefully  to  all  his  subjects 
and  then  went  away  to  see  if  he  could  find  any 
cake  in  the  royal  pantry. 

Ozma  of  Oz  and  her  people,  as  well  as  Dorothy, 
Tiktok  and  Billina,  were  splendidly  entertained  by 
the  Queen  mother,  who  owed  all  her  happiness  to 
their  kind  offices;  and  that  evening  the  yellow  hen 
was  publicly  presented  with  a  beautiful  necklace  of 
pearls  and  sapphires,  as  a  token  of  esteem  from  the 
new  King. 


decided  to  accept  Oz- 

ma's  invitation  to  return 

with  her  to  the  Land  of  Oz. 

There  was  no  greater  chance 

of  her  getting  home  from  Ev 

than  from  Oz,  and  the  little  girl 

was  anxious  to  see  once  more  the 

country  where  she  had  encountered 

such  wonderful  adventures.      By  this 

time  Uncle  Henry  would  have  reached 

Australia  in  his  ship,  and  had  probably 

given  her  up  for  lost;  so  he  couldn't  worry 

any  more  than  he  did  if  she  stayed  away  from 

him  a  while  longer.      So  she  would  go  to  Oz. 

They  bade  good-bye  to  the  people  of  Ev,  and 
the  King  promised  Ozma  that  he  would  ever  be 

242 


The     Emerald     City 

grateful  to  her  and  render  the  Land  of  Oz  any 
service  that  might  lie  within  his  power. 

And  then  they  approached  the  edge  of  the 
dangerous  desert,  and  Ozma  threw  down  the  magic 
carpet,  which  at  once  unrolled  far  enough  for  all 
of  them  to  walk  upon  it  without  being  crowded. 

Tiktok,  claiming  to  be  Dorothy's  faithful  follower 
because  he  belonged  to  her,  had  been  permitted  to 
join  the  party,  and  before  they  started  the  girl  wound 
up  his  machinery  as  far  as  possible,  and  the  copper 
man  stepped  off  as  briskly  as  any  one  of  them. 

Ozma  also  invited  Billina  to  visit  the  Land  of  Oz, 
and  the  yellow  hen  was  glad  enough  to  go  where 
new  sights  and  scenes  awaited  her. 

They  began  the  trip  across  the  desert  early  in 
the  morning,  and  as  they  stopped  only  long  enough 
for  Billina  to  lay  her  daily  egg,  before  sunset  they 
espied  the  green  slopes  and  wooded  hills  of  the 
beautiful  Land  of  Oz.  They  entered  it  in  the 
Munchkin  territory,  and  the  King  of  the  Munchkins 
met  them  at  the  border  and  welcomed  Ozma  with 
great  respect,  being  very  pleased  by  her  safe  return. 
For  Ozma  of  Oz  ruled  the  King  of  the  Munchkins, 
the  King  of  the  Winkies,  the  King  of  the  Quadlings 
and  the  King  of  the  Gillikins  just  as  those  kings 
ruled  their  own  people;  and  this  supreme  ruler  of 

243 


Ozma        of        Oz 

the  Land  of  Oz  lived  in  a  great  town  of  her  own, 
called  the  Emerald  City,  which  was  in  the  exact 
center  of  the  four  kingdoms  of  the  Land  of  Oz. 

The  Munchkin  king  entertained  them  at  his  pal- 
ace that  night,  and  in  the  morning  they  set  out  for 
the  Emerald  City,  travelling  over  a  road  of  yellow 
brick  that  led  straight  to  the  jewel-studded  gates. 
Everywhere  the  people  turned  out  to  greet  their 
beloved  Ozma,  and  to  hail  joyfully  the  Scarecrow, 
the  Tin  Woodman  and  the  Cowardly  Lion,  who 
were  popular  favorites.  Dorothy,  too,  remembered 
some  of  the  people,  who  had  befriended  her  on  the 
occasion  of  her  first  visit  to  Oz,  and  they  were  well 
pleased  to  see  the  little  Kansas  girl  again,  and 
showered  her  with  compliments  and  good  wishes. 

At  one  place,  where  they  stopped  to  refresh 
themselves,  Ozma  accepted  a  bowl  of  milk  from  the 
hands  of  a  pretty  dairy-maid.  Then  she  looked  at 
the  girl  more  closely,  and  exclaimed: 

"Why,  it's  Jinjur — isn*t  it!" 

"Yes,  your  Highness,"  was  the  reply,  as  Jinjur 
dropped  a  low  curtsy.  And  Dorothy  looked 
wonderingly  at  this  lively  appearing  person,  who 
had  once  assembled  an  army  of  women  and  driven 
the  Scarecrow  from  the  throne  of  the  Emerald  City; 


244 


The     Emerald     City 

and  even  fought  a  battle  with  the  powerful  army  of 
Glinda  the  Sorceress. 

"I've  married  a  man  who  owns  nine  cows,"  said 
Tinjur  to  Ozma,  "and  now  I  am  happy  and  con- 


tented and  willing  to  lead  a  quiet  life  and  mind  my 
own  business." 

"Where  is  your  husband?"  asked  Ozma. 

"He  is  in  the  house,  nursing  a  black  eye,"  replied 
Jinjur,  calmly.  "  The  foolish  man  would  insist  upon 
milking  the  red  cow  when  I  wanted  him  to  milk 
the  white  one;  but  he  will  know  better  next  time, 
I  am  sure." 

245 


Ozma        of        Oz 

Then  the  party  moved  on  again,  and  after  cross- 
ing a  broad  river  on  a  ferry  and  passing  many  fine 
farm  houses  that  were  dome  shaped  and  painted  a 
pretty  green  color,  they  came  in  sight  of  a  large 
building  that  was  covered  with  flags  and  bunting. 

«I  don't  remember  that  building,'*  said  Dorothy. 
"What  is  it?" 

"That  is  the  College  of  Art  and  Athletic  Per- 
fection," replied  Ozma.  "I  had  it  built  quite  re- 
cently, and  the  Woggle-Bug  is  it's  president.  It 
keeps  him  busy,  and  the  young  men  who  attend 
the  college  are  no  worse  off"  than  they  were  before. 
You  see,  in  this  country  are  a  number  of  youths 
who  do  not  like  to  work,  and  the  college  is  an  ex- 
cellent place  for  them," 

And  now  they  came  in  sight  of  the  Emerald  City, 
and  the  people  flocked  out  to  greet  their  lovely 
ruler.  There  were  several  bands  and  many  officers 
and  officials  of  the  realm,  and  a  crowd  of  citizens  in 
their  holiday  attire. 

Thus  the  beautiful  Ozma  was  escorted  by  a  bril- 
liant procession  to  her  royal  city,  and  so  great  was 
the  cheering  that  she  was  obliged  to  constantly  bow 
to  the  right  and  left  to  acknowledge  the  greetings 
of  her  subjects. 

That  evening  there  was  a  grand  reception  in  the 

246 


'I  PROMOTE  YOU  TO  BE  CAPTAIN-GENERAL 


Ozma        of       Oz 

royal  palace,  attended  by  the  most  important  persons 
of  Oz,  and  Jack  Pumpkinhead,  who  was  a  little  over- 
ripe but  still  active,  read  an  address  coligratulating 
Ozma  of  Oz  upon  the  success  of  her  generous  mis- 
sion to  rescue  the  royal  family  of  a  neighboring 
kingdom. 

Then  magnificent  gold  medals  set  with  precious 
stones  were  presented  to  each  of  the  twenty-six 
officers;  and  the  Tin  Woodman  was  given  a  new 
axe  studded  with  diamonds;  and  the  Scarecrow  re- 
ceived a  silver  jar  of  complexion  powder.  Dorothy 
was  presented  with  a  pretty  coronet  and  made  a 
Princess  of  Oz,  and  Tiktok  received  two  bracelets 
set  with  eight  rows  of  very  clear  and  sparkling 
emeralds. 

Afterward  they  sat  down  to  a  splendid  feast,  and 
Ozma  put  Dorothy  at  her  right  and  Billina  at  her 
left,  where  the  hen  sat  upon  a  golden  roost  and  ate 
from  a  jeweled  platter.  Then  were  placed  the 
Scarecrow,  the  Tin  Woodman  and  Tiktok,  with 
baskets  of  lovely  flowers  before  them,  because  they 
did  not  require  food.  The  twenty-six  officers  were 
at  the  lower  end  of  the  table,  and  the  Lion  and  the 
Tiger  also  had  seats,  and  were  served  on  golden 
platters,  that  held  a  half  a  bushel  at  one  time. 

The  wealthiest  and  most   important   citizens   of 

248 


The     Emerald     City 

the  Emerald  City  were  proud  to  wait  upon  these 
famous  adventurers,  and  they  were  assisted  by  a 
sprightly  little  maid  named  Jellia  Jamb,  whom  the 
Scarecrow  pinched  upon  her  rosy  cheeks  and  seemed 
to  know  very  well. 

During  the  feast  Ozma  grew  thoughtful,  and 
suddenly  she  asked: 

"Where  is  the  private?" 

«Oh,  he  is  sweeping  out  the  barracks,''  replied 
one  of  the  generals,  who  was  busy  eating  a  leg  of  a 
turkey.  "But  I  have  ordered  him  a  dish  of  bread 
and  molasses  to  eat  when  his  work  is  done." 

"Let  him  be  sent  for,"  said  the  girl  ruler. 

While  they  waited  for  this  command  to  be  obeyed, 
she  enquired: 

"Have  we  any  other  privates  in  the  armies?" 

"Oh,  yes,"  replied  the  Tin  Woodman,  "I  believe 
there  are  three,  altogether." 

The  private  now  entered,  saluting  his  officers  and 
the  royal  Ozma  very  respectfully. 

"What  is  your  name,  my  man?"  asked  the  girl. 

"Omby  Amby,"  answered  the  private. 

"Then,  Omby  Amby,"  said  she,  "I  promote  you 
to  be  Captain  General  of  all  the  armies  of  my  king- 
dom, and  especially  to  be  Commander  of  my  Body 
Guard  at  the  royal  palace." 

249 


o 


m 


f     o 


"It  is  very  expensive  to  hold  so  many  offices," 
said  the  private,  hesitating.  "  I  have  no  money  with 
which  to  buy  uniforms.'* 

"You  shall  be  supplied  from  the  royal  treasury," 
said  Ozma. 

Then  the  private  was  given  a  seat  at  the  table, 
where  the  other  officers  welcomed  him  cordially, 
and  the  feasting  and  merriment  were  resumed. 

Suddenly  Jellia  Jamb  exclaimed: 

"There  is  nothing  more  to  eat!  The  Hungry 
Tiger  has  consumed  everything!'* 

"But  that  is  not  the  worst  of  it,**  declared  the 
Tiger,  mournfully.  "Somewhere  or  somehow,  I've 
actually  lost  my  appetite!" 


250 


1> 


oro 


passed   several  very 
happy  weeks  in  the  Land 
of  Oz  as  the  guest  of  the 
royal    Ozma,  who    delighted 
to  please  and  interest  the  little 
Kansas    girl.       Many    new    ac- 
quaintances were  formed  and  many 
old  ones  renewed,  and  wherever  she 
went    Dorothy   found   herself  among 
friends. 

One  day,  however,  as  she  sat  in  Ozma's 
private  room,  she  noticed  hanging  upon  the 
wall  a  picture  which  constantly  changed  in 
appearance,  at  one   time  showing  a   meadow 
and  at  another  time  a  forest,  a  lake  or  a  village. 

251 


Ozma        of        Oz 

"How  curious!"  she  exclaimed,  after  watching 
the  shifting  scenes  for  a  few  moments. 

"Yes,"  said  Ozma,  ^<that  is  really  a  wonderful  in- 
vention in  magic.  If  I  wish  to  see  any  part  of  the 
world  or  any  person  living,  I  need  only  express  the 
wish  and  it  is  shown  in  the  picture." 

"May  I  use  it?"  asked  Dorothy,  eagerly. 
"Of  course,  my  dear." 

"Then  Td  like  to  see  the  old  Kansas  farm,  and 
Aunt  Em,"  said  the  girl. 

Instantly  the  well  remembered  farmhouse  appeared 
in  the  picture,  and  Aunt  Em  could  be  seen  quite 
plainly.  She  was  engaged  in  washing  dishes  by  the 
kitchen  window  and  seemed  quite  well  and  con- 
tented. The  hired  men  and  the  teams  were  in  the 
harvest  fields  behind  the  house,  and  the  corn  and 
wheat  seemed  to  the  child  to  be  in  prime  condition. 
On  the  side  porch  Dorothy's  pet  dog,  Toto,  was  ly- 
ing fast  asleep  in  the  sun,  and  to  her  surprise  old 
Speckles  was  running  around  with  a  brood  of  twelve 
new  chickens  trailing  after  her. 

"Everything  seems  all  right  at  home,"  said  Doro- 
thy, with  a  sigh  of  relief.  "Now  I  wonder  what 
Uncle  Henry  is  doing." 

The  scene  in  the  picture  at  once  shifted  to 
Australia,   where,  in    a    pleasant    room    in    Sydney, 

252 


Dorothy's  Magic  Belt 

Uncle  Henry  was  seated  in  an  easy  chair,  solemnly 
smoking  his  briar  pipe.  He  looked  sad  and  lonely, 
and  his  hair  was  now  quite  white  and  his  hands  and 
face  thin  and  wasted. 

"Oh!"  cried  Dorothy,  in  an  anxious  voice,  "Fn: 
sure  Uncle  Henry  isn't  getting  any  belLer,  and  it's 
because  he  is  worried  about  me.  Ozma,  dear,  I 
must  go  to  him  at  once!" 

"How  can  you?"  asked  Ozma. 

"I  don't  know,"  replied  Dorothy;  "but  let  us  go 
to  Glinda  the  Good.  I'm  sure  she  will  help  me, 
and  advise  me  how  to  get  to  Uncle  Henry." 

Ozma  readily  agreed  to  this  plan  and  caused  the 
Sawhorse  to  be  harnessed  to  a  pretty  green  and  pink 
phaeton,  and  the  two  girls  rode  away  to  visit  the 
famous  sorceress. 

Glinda  received  them  graciously,  and  listened  to 
Dorothy's  story  with  attention. 

"  I  have  the  magic  belt,  you  know,"  said  the  little 
girl.  "If  I  buckled  it  around  my  waist  and  com- 
manded it  to  take  me  to  Uncle  Henry,  w^ouldn't  it 
do  it?" 

"I  think  so,"  replied  Glinda,  with  a  smile. 

"And  then,"  continued  Dorothy,  "if  I  ever 
wanted  to  come  back  here  again,  the  belt  would 
bring  me." 

253 


THAT  IS  A  WISE  PLAN."  REPLIED  GUNDA 


Dorothy's  Magic  Belt 

<<  In  that  you  are  wrong/*  said  the  sorceress.  "  The 
belt  has  magical  powers  only  while  it  is  in  some 
fairy  country,  such  as  the  Land  of  Oz,  or  the  Land 
of  Ev.  Indeed,  my  little  friend,  were  you  to  wear 
it  and  wish  yourself  in  Australia,  with  your  uncle, 
the  wish  would  doubtless  be  fulfilled,  because  it  was 
made  in  fairyland.  But  you  would  not  find  the 
magic  belt  around  you  when  you  arrived  at  youi 
destination." 

"What  would  become  of  it?'*  asked  the  girl. 

"It  would  be  lost,  as  were  your  silver  shoes  when 
you  visited  Oz  before,  and  no  one  would  ever  see 
it  again.  It  seems  too  bad  to  destroy  the  use  of  the 
magic  belt  in  that  way,  doesn't  it?" 

"Then,"  said  Dorothy,  after  a  moment's  thought, 
"I  will  give  the  magic  belt  to  Ozma,  for  she  can  use 
it  in  her  own  country.  And  she  can  wish  me  trans- 
ported to  Uncle  Henry  without  losing  the  belt." 

"That  is  a  wise  plan,'*  replied  Glinda. 

So  they  rode  back  to  the  Emerald  City,  and  on 
the  way  it  was  arranged  that  every  Saturday  morning 
Ozma  would  look  at  Dorothy  in  her  magic  picture, 
wherever  the  little  girl  might  chance  to  be.  And, 
if  she  saw  Dorothy  make  a  certain  signal,  then  Ozma 
would  know  that  the  little  Kansas  girl  wanted  to 
revisit  the  Land  of  Oz,  and  by  means  of  the  Nome 

255 


Ozma        of        Oz 

King's  magic  belt  would  wish  that  she  might  in- 
stantly return. 

This  having  been  agreed  upon,  Dorothy  bade 
good-bye  to  all  her  friends.  Tiktok  wanted  to  go 
to  Australia,  too;  but  Dorothy  knew  that  the 
machine  man  would  never  do  for  a  servant  in  a 
civilized  country,  and  the  chances  were  that  his 
machinery  wouldn't  work  at  all.  So  she  left  him 
in  Ozma's  care. 

Billina,  on  the  contrary,  preferred  the  Land  of  Oz 
to  any  other  country,  and  refused  to  accompany 
Dorothy. 

"  The  bugs  and  ants  that  I  find  here  are  the  finest 
flavored  in  the  world,'*  declared  the  yellow  hen, 
"and  there  are  plenty  of  them.  So  here  I  shall  end 
my  days;  and  I  must  say,  Dorothy,  my  dear,  that 
you  are  very  foolish  to  go  back  into  that  stupid, 
humdrum  world  again." 

"Uncle  Henry  needs  me,"  said  Dorothy,  simply; 
and  every  one  except  Billina  thought  it  was  right 
that  she  should  go. 

All  Dorothy's  friends  of  the  Land  of  Oz — both 
old  and  new — gathered  in  a  group  in  front  of  the 
palace  to  bid  her  a  sorrowful  good-bye  and  to  wish 
her  long  life  and  happiness.  After  much  hand 
shaking,  Dorothy  kissed  Ozma  once  more,  and  then 

256 


Dorothy's  Magic  Belt 


handed  her  the  Nome  King's  magic  belt,  saying: 

"  Now,  dear  Princess,  when  I  wave  my  handker- 
chief, please  wish  me  with  Uncle  Henry.  Tm  aw'fly 
sorry  to  leave  you — and  the  Scarecrow^ — and  the 
Tin    Woodman — and    the     Cowardly     Lion — and 


Tiktok — and — and  everybody — but  I  do  want  my 
Uncle  Henry!      So  good-bye,  all  of  you." 

Then   the    little  girl   stood   on   one  of  the    big 
emeralds  which  decorated  the  courtyard,  and  after 


257 


o 


z    m    a 


o  f     o 


looking  once   again   at   each  of  her  friends,  waved 

her  handkerchief. 

■jf  ^  -Jf 

"No,"  said  Dorothy,  "I  wasn't  drowned  at  all. 
And  Fve  come  to  nurse  you  and  take  care  of  you, 
Uncle  Henry,  and  you  must  promise  to  get  well  as 
soon  as  poss'ble." 

Uncle  Henry  smiled  and  cuddled  his  little  niece 
close  in  his  lap. 

"I'm  better  already,  my  darling,"  said  he. 


258 


Li;  KARY  ^,,v;j.,>..-  -j    .♦ 

FEB        1981 


McDFOSD.  MASS. 


University  of 
Connecticut 

Libraries 


